THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 


'From  every  window  they  received  a  hail  of  bullets" 

[Page  Sid] 


THE  FALL 
OF  A  NATION 


A   SEQUEL    TO 
THE  BIRTH   OF  A   NATION 

BY 

THOMAS  DIXON 

AUTHOR  <W  "  IHB  CLA1CSMAW,"  "  THE  8OUTHEBNBH," 
"THB  FOOLISH  VIBOIH,"  BTC. 


BT 

CHARLEfi-WKENN 


D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1916 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
THOMAS    DIXON 


Copyright,  1915,  1916,  by  THE  NATIONAL  SUNDAY  MAOAZINB 


A.U  rights  reserved,  including  that  of  translation  into 
all  foreign  languages,  including  the  Scandinavian 


Printed  m  the  United  States  of  America 


"PS 

35-07 


TO 

MY  FRIEND 

JAMES  B.  DUKE 


550044 


TO  THE  READER 

This  novel  is  not  a  rehash  of  the  idea  of  a  foreign 
conquest  of  America  based  on  the  accidents  of  war. 
It  is  a  study  of  the  origin,  meaning  and  destiny  of 
American  Democracy  by  one  who  believes  that  the  time 
is  ripe  in  this  country  for  a  revival  of  the  principles 
on  which  our  Republic  was  founded. 

THOMAS  DESON. 

Los  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"From  every  window  they  received  a  hail  of 

bullets" Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

" ' In  God's  name,  what  regiment's  that  ? '"     .        .        .200 
"'It's  all  love's  victory,  dearest'"        ....         258 

"  Tommaso  staggered  to  the  breastworks  and  stood 

one  man  against  an  army" 276 

"A  battery  of  artillery  cleared  the  barricades  and 

the  slaughter  began" 316 

"Angela  swept  close  .    .    .  fired  and  circled  to 

fire  again" 360 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

PROLOGUE 

OVER  a  bleak  hillside  in  Scotland  the  sun  is  sink- 
ing in  the  sea.  A  group  of  humble  men  and 
women  stand  before  the  King's  soldiers  ac- 
cused of  disobedience  to  Royal  command.  They  have 
been  found  guilty  of  worshiping  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience  and  not  according  to 
the  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  sheriff  appeals  in  vain  that  they  yield  and  live. 
The  grim  prelate  advances,  reads  the  death  warrant, 
and  offers  pardon  if  they  renounce  their  faith.  With 
quiet  smiles  they  lift  their  heads  and  pray. 

The  King  on  his  throne  has  failed.  The  King  within 
the  soul  of  man  is  rising  to  reign. 

The  martyrs  are  bound  to  a  stake,  the  fagots  piled 
high,  the  torch  applied.  Above  the  crackle  and  roar  of 
flames  over  the  hills  by  the  western  sea  rises  their  song 
•*— the  battle  hymn  of  a  coming  republic  of  freemen. 

The  women  they  reserve  for  kindlier  treatment,  these 
gallant  servants  of  the  King.  Beside  old  Margaret 
1 


PROLOGUE 


McLaughlin  stands  a  beautiful  girl  $f  nineteen  with 
wide  eyes  hungry  for  the  joy  of  living.  The  poor  father, 
faithful  to  the  Church,  has  bought  the  life  of  his  younger 
daughter  for  a  hundred  pounds  in  gold.  He  offers 
more  for  his  first  born.  The  older  one  they  refuse  to 
sell. 

With  generous  chivalry  the  soldiers  drive  their  stakes 
within  the  tide  line  of  the  sea.  Drowning  they  say  is 
an  easy  death.  Old  Margaret  sinks  quickly  beneath  the 
waves.  Life  has  been  hard  for  her.  There's  a  far-off 
eager  look  in  the  old  eyes  as  they  are  lifted  to  the  sky. 

The  young  girl  fights  for  life  with  the  instinctive 
will  to  live  that  beats  in  every  mother  soul.  The  prelate 
watching  smiles.  He  sees  a  convert  to  his  forms  and 
signals  to  the  guard.  The  girl  is  loosed  and  dragged 
ashore.  Bending  over  the  prostrate  figure  on  the  sands 
he  offers  life  for  an  oath. 

"Your  King  commands  it!"  the  minion  urges,- 

The  girl  answers  in  gentle  tones : 

"I  am  Christ's  child— I  follow  Him !" 

The  prelate  frowns,  rises  and  gives  the  sign  to  his 
executioners.  The  soldiers  tie  her  again  to  the  stake, 
and  the  red  shadow  of  the  flames  on  the  bleak  hill  fall 
across  the  white  young  face  and  mingle  with  the  scarlet 
of  the  setting  sun. 

Every  dungeon  groans  throughout  the  realm  with 


PROLOGUE 


the  madness  of  the  King.  The  gentlest  and  the  noblest 
are  held  as  common  felons.  John  Milton,  brooding 
within  his  soul  his  immortal  song,  is  gripped  by  prison 
bars.  Roger  Williams,  his  friend  and  fellow  dreamer, 
sits  by  his  side  reading  to  the  blind  poet  the  principles 
of  liberty  proclaimed  by  their  Dutch  brethren  across 
the  channel. 

From  every  dark  port  the  ships  lift  their  wings  and 
sail  westward.  From  the  decks  of  one  our  Pilgrim 
Fathers  land  on  Plymouth  Rock  and  pray.  Strange 
mixture  of  fine  and  common  clay  these  ancestors  of  ours ! 
fThey  land  first  on  their  knees  and  then  on  the  abo- 
rigines. The  pilgrim  becomes  the  invader.  And  he 
wins  every  battle  for  the  simplest  possible  reason.  He 
carries  a  weapon  superior  to  the  one  in  the  hand  of  the 
untutored  Indian.  The  bow  and  arrow  goes  down  before 
the  death  dealing  bolt  hurled  by  gunpowder. 

The  simple  aboriginal  had  made  no  preparation 
Against  invasion.  His  wigwam  is  burned,  his  land  and 
goods  taken,  his  children  slain. 

On  other  ships  come  nobler  men  who  lift  high  the 
light  of  a  new  civilization. 

Roger  Williams,  exiled  from  England  and  driven 

from  Massachusetts  by  the  Pilgrims,  lands  on  Narra- 

gansett  Bay,  and  proclaims   religious  liberty   as  the 

first  principle  of  human  progress.     William  Penn  in 

3 


PROLOGUE 


Pennsylvania  and  Roger  Williams  in  Rhode  Island  at 
least  atone  for  some  of  our  early  sins.  The  light  they 
kindle  on  our  shores  streams  across  the  sea  to  far-off 
king-ridden  Germany  whose  men  and  women  starve  and 
freeze  on  snow-wrapped  hills  and  mountains  while 
crowned  heads,  aping  the  Court  of  the  Grand  Monarch 
of  France,  dance  and  drink  in  their  palaces.  As  the 
snows  melt  an  endless  line  of  human  misery  pours  along 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine  to  Rotterdam — with  eyes  fixed 
on  the  far-off  new  western  world. 

From  the  green  hills  of  Ireland  leaps  another  stream 
toward  the  western  sea.  An  absentee  landlord,  wearing 
a  coronet  and  loafing  at  the  Court  of  Royalty,  needs 
more  money  for  his  games.  He  decides  to  double  his 
income  by  raising  his  rents.  The  Marquis  of  Donegal 
promptly  evicts  all  tenants  who  cannot  pay.  The  lordly 
example  is  followed  by  his  landowning  neighbors  and 
thirty  thousand  Irish  immigrants  flee  to  America  in  a 
single  year. 

But  strangest  sign  of  the  ages,  the  children  of  the 
Inquisition  themselves  at  last  feel  the  thumbscrew,  rack 
and  torch  and  turn  their  frightened  faces  westward  to 
the  new  free  world !  Lord  Baltimore  leads  his  Catholic 
exiles  to  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  and  builds  in 
new-found  wisdom  a  free  state  with  religious  liberty  its 
cornerstone. 


PROLOGUE 


From  a  rose  bower  in  the  Royal  gardens  at  Fon- 
tainebleau  the  blackest  cloud  of  a  bloody  century  rises 
to  darken  the  skies  of  sunny  France.  A  gayly  dressed 
page  places  a  cushion  and  footstool  and  prostrates  him- 
self as  before  approaching  divinity.  A  courtier  enters, 
examines  the  cushion,  kneels,  kisses  the  footstool  and 
stands  at  attention.  The  Grand  Monarch,  Louis  XIV, 
approaches  leaning  heavily  on  the  arm  of  his  bespangled 
attendant.  The  King  is  bent  with  the  consciousness  of 
a  life  of  sin.  His  fat  legs  totter,  and  there  is  a  haunted 
look  in  his  feverish  eyes.  Remorse  for  a  brutal  career 
is  gnawing  at  his  fear-stricken  soul.  The  white  hand 
of  Death  is  beckoning  and  he  sees. 

Madame  de  Maintenon,  his  evil  genius,  hovers  in  the 
background,  a  black-robed  priest  whispering  in  her  will- 
ing ear. 

The  King  is  seated  by  his  courtiers.  He  roughly 
commands  that  they  call  his  mistress-wife  and  waves 
them  aside  with  imperious  gesture. 

De  Maintenon's  keen  eye  catches  the  order,  the  priest 
disappears  and  the  harlot  who  rules  a  world  approaches 
with  cat-like  tread,  her  face  a  study  of  quiet  triumphant 
cunning.  She  protests  her  undying  love  and  with 
pious  eloquence  points  the  way  by  which  his  gracious 
majesty  may  yet  earn  his  heavenly  crown.  A  million 
industrious  Huguenots  have  unfortunately  survived  the 
5 


PROLOGUE 


massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew.  If  the  King  would  win 
eternal  salvation  he  can  by  ordering  their  death  or 
submission  to  the  dishonor  of  denying  their  soul's  faith 
in  God.  She  presents  the  fatal  document.  The  old 
rou6  with  trembling  hand  signs  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes.  France  is  again  deluged  in  blood 
and  two  hundred  thousand  of  her  noblest  children  driven 
into  exile. 

The  sun  of  the  new  day  rises  on  fields  of  flowers 
strewn  with  the  bodies  of  dead  mothers  and  babes.  As 
the  night  falls,  terror-stricken  refugees  creep  across 
the  dark  sands  of  the  beach,  enter  the  little  boats  and 
push  off  from  their  beloved  motherland  for  the  long 
exile,  their  saddened  faces  turned  westward. 

The  sea  is  wide  but  not  so  wide  that  the  English 
King's  hand  cannot  reach  the  throats  of  exiles  and 
their  children.  By  royal  command  Captain  Preston 
orders  his  soldiers  to  shoot  the  people  down  in  the 
streets  of  Boston  on  the  night  of  March  5,  1770.  Un- 
armed men  shout  defiance  and  the  troops  are  withdrawn 
to  hush  the  turmoil. 

The  frontiersmen  of  the  wilderness  of  North  Caro- 
lina are  not  so  easily  tamed.  They  seize  their  muskets 
and  give  the  first  armed  resistance  t^,  the  might  of 
kings  the  New  World  has  dared.  Tb  Royal  Governor 
defeats  the  rebels  in  the  Battle  of  lamance  on  May 
6 


PROLOGUE 


16,  1771,  and  hangs  six  of  their  leaders.  As  young 
James  Pough  stands  with  his  arms  pinioned  behind  his 
back  he  turns  to  his  executioners  and  shouts:  "My 
blood  will  be  seed  sown  on  good  ground !" 

Our  fathers  in  Boston  hear  the  shout  and  when  the 
King  attempts  to  enforce  his  stamp  act  they  board 
his  ship  and  throw  the  cargo  into  the  sea. 

The  Colonies  are  at  war  with  the  King.  The  big 
bell  in  Philadelphia  is  calling  all  to  unite  in  common 
defense  and  Thomas  Jefferson  reads  his  immortal  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  to  the  assembled  leaders.  His 
voice  rings  with  a  strange  prophetic  elation: 

"We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self  evident — that  all 
men  are  created  equal!" 

The  startled  kings  of  the  earth  hear  the  new  heresy 
in  sullen  wrath  and  join  hands  to  crush  the  rebels.  The 
German  rulers  hire  to  George  III  more  than  thirty 
thousand  Teutonic  soldiers  with  which  to  stamp  out  the 
threatening  conflagration.  The  Hessians  land  on  our 
shores  and  join  hands  with  the  scarlet  ranks  of  the 
King  of  England. 

To  mock  their  shame  a  noble  Prussian,  trained  in  the 
school  of  Frederick  the  Great,  offers  his  sword  to  Wash- 
ington and  becomes  the  Inspector  General  of  our  ragged 
half-starved  army. 

Steuben  stands  beside  Lafayette  and  Rochambeau 
7 


PROLOGUE 


while  Lord  Cornwallis  surrenders  the  British  army  at 
Yorktown. 

Through  ten  years  of  defeat  and  anguish,  of  blood 
and  suffering  God  leads  the  American  Colonies  at  last 
into  the  sunlight  of  victory.  George  Washington,  first 
president  of  the  established  union  of  free  sovereign 
democratic  States,  delivers  his  inaugural  address.  A 
free  nation  rises  from  blood-red  soil  to  haunt  the  dream 
of  kings. 

The  rulers  of  earth  are  not  slow  to  note  the  signs 
of  the  times.  Democracy  must  be  crushed.  The  hand- 
writing on  their  palace  walls  is  plain.  He  who  runs 
may  read.  Imperialism  challenges  Democracy  for  a 
fight  to  the  finish.  The  kings  of  Austria,  Russia  and 
Prussia  meet  in  Paris  and  form  the  Holy  Alliance.  The 
purpose  of  their  treaty  is  expressed  in  plain  language. 
It  has  the  ring  of  a  bugle  call  to  arms.  They  do  not 
mince  words: 

"The  high  contracting  parties,  well  convinced  that 
the  system  of  representative  government  is  as  incom- 
patible with  the  monarchical  system  as  the  maxim 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  is  opposed  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  Divine  Right,  engage  in  the  most  solemn  man- 
ner to  employ  all  their  means  and  unite  all  their  efforts 
to  put  an  end  to  the  system  of  representative  govern- 
ment wherever  it  is  known  to  exist  in  the  States  of 


PROLOGUE 

Europe  and  to  prevent  it  from  being  introduced  into 
those  States  where  it  is  not  Arnoom." 

Alexander  I  of  Russia,  Frederick  William  IH  of 
Prussia,  and  Francis  I  of  Austria  sign  the  solemn  com- 
pact and  fix  their  Royal  seals.  In  due  time  the  Bourbon 
King  of  France  joins  the  Alliance  against  the  rising 
Democracy.  They  would  first  crush  the  spirit  of  the 
French  Revolution  in  Europe  and  halt  the  spirit  of  1776 
in  America.  They  must  re-establish  the  Crown  over  the 
revolting  colonies  of  Central  and  South  America  and 
establish  Russia's  claim  to  Northwestern  America. 

James  Monroe,  president  of  the  United  States,  an- 
swers this  challenge  with  the  doctrine  of  a  free  America 
ruled  by  her  own  people.  The  leader  of  world  democ- 
racy does  not  mince  words.  His  message  rings  also 
with  the  note  of  a  bugle  call  to  arms: 

"The  political  system  of  the  Allied  Powers  is  essen- 
tially different  from  that  of  America.  To  the  defense 
of  our  own,  which  has  been  achieved  with  the  loss  of  so 
much  blood  and  treasure,  this  whole  nation  is  devoted 
and  we  should  consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to 
extend  their  system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere 
as  dangerous  to  our  peace  and  safety.  It  is  impossible 
therefore  that  the  Allied  Powers  should  extend  their 
political  system  to  either  Continent  of  North  or  South 
America  without  endangering  our  life." 
9 


PROLOGUE 


Imperial  Europe  has  flung  down  the  gantlet.  Amer- 
ican Democracy  accepts  the  challenge  and  Ifie  fight 
is  on  to  a  finish. 

The  King  of  Prussia  wins  the  first  skirmish  and 
strangles  with  iron  hand  the  murmurs  of  the  people 
of  Germany  for  freedom.  Karl  Schurz,  Franz  Siegel, 
Jacobi  and  their  fellow  students  crawl  through  the 
sewers,  elude  the  Prussian  soldiers,  and  reach  our  shores 
to  swell  the  rank  of  militant  Democracy.  All  Europe 
rings  with  the  headsman's  ax  and  from  a  thousand 
hilltops  the  ropes  of  hangmen  swing  in  the  stark 
heavens. 

Those  corpses  of  young  men, 

Those  martyrs  that  hang  from  the  gibbets — those 

hearts  pierced  by  the  gray  lead, 
Cold  and  motionless  as  they  seem,  live  elsewhere 

with  unslaughtered  vitality. 

They  live  in  other  young  men,  O  kings ! 
They  live  in  brothers,  again  ready  to  defy  you ! 
They  were  purified  by  death — they  were  taught 
and  exalted. 

Not  a  disembodied   spirit   can   the   weapons   of 

tyrants  let  loose, 
But  it  stalks  invisibly  over  the  earth,  whispering, 

counseling,  cautioning. 
10 


PROLOGUE 


Democracy  hears  these  invisible  councilors  and  sets 
her  house  in  order  for  the  coming  world  crisis. 

The  old  Federal  Union  of  sovereign  states  has  proven 
too  frail  for  the  strain  of  the  new  era.  A  stronger 
Union  must  be  laid  with  new  and  deeper  foundations. 
"Liberty  and  Union  one  and  inseparable  now  and  for- 
ever" ceases  to  be  merely  the  eloquent  prayer  of  a  great 
statesman.  It  has  become  the  first  necessity  of  the 
political  system  of  Democracy.  Abraham  Lincoln 
realizes  this  in  his  soul  stirring  cry  from  the  great  bat- 
tlefield: 

"That  Government  of  the  people  Toy  the  people  and 
for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth!" 

From  her  baptism  of  blood  and  tears  the  New  Nation, 
strong,  free,  united,  rises  at  last  to  face  a  hostile  world, 
her  house  in  order,  her  loins  girded  for  the  conflict. 

Imperial  Europe  hastens  to  test  her  mettle.  A  prince- 
ling is  proclaimed  emperor  of  Mexico  in  a  palace  in 
Vienna,  Austria,  and  sails  for  our  shores.  His  reign 
is  brief. 

A  few  short  months  and  Maximilian  stands  beside 
an  old  Spanish  wall  in  a  Mexican  village  and  bids  fare- 
well to  his  friends.  He  is  allowed  to  embrace  Miramon 
and  Mejia.  With  imperial  gesture  he  throws  his 
gold  to  the  soldiers  and  bids  them  fire  straight  at 
his  heart.  The  three  fall  simultaneously  and  the  smoke 
11 


PROLOGUE 


lifts  once  more  on  a  Western  nation  ruled  by  the 
people. 

Europe  has  not  forgotten.  She  is  busy  for  the 
moment  setting  her  own  house  in  order  for  the  supreme 
conflict  which  her  leaders  foresee  with  the  advance  of 
the  dangerous  heresy  of  people  claiming  the  right  to 
govern  themselves. 

The  Emperor  of  Germany  sounds  the  keynote  in  an 
address  to  his  magnificent  army — The  Divine  Right  of 
Kings  was  never  so  boldly  proclaimed  by  any  ruler  of 
the  world.  He  speaks  the  last  word  of  Imperial  Cul- 
ture to  Modern  Democracy: 

"We  Hohenzollerns  hold  our  croici*  -from  God  alone. 
Who  opposes  me  I  shall  crush  to  pieces!" 

The  American  Republic  is  but  a  lusty  youth  of 
untried  strength  among  the  nations  of  earth.  The  real 
battle  between  the  Crown  and  the  People  for  the  mas- 
tery of  the  world  is  yet  to  be  fought.  Eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  liberty  today  as  yesterday  and  forever. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  liveried  flunkey  entered  the  stately  library 
and  bowed: 
"You  rang,  sir?" 

He  scarcely  breathed  the  words.  In  every  tone  spoke 
the  old  servile  humility  of  the  creature  in  the  presence 
of  his  creator  the  King.  He  might  have  said,  "Sire." 
His  voice,  his  straight-set  eyes,  his  bowed  body,  did 
say  it. 

His  master  continued  the  conversation  with  the  two 
men  without  lifting  his  head.  He  merely  flung  the  order 
with  studied  carelessness: 

"Lights,  Otto— the  table  only." 

The  servant  bowed  low,  pressed  the  electric  switch, 
and  softly  left  the  room,  walking  backward  as  before 
royalty. 

The  two  men  with  Charles  Waldron  in  his  palatial 
house  in  New  York  passed  the  incident  apparently 
without  knowledge  of  its  significance.  An  American- 
born  boy  of  fourteen,  seeing  it  twenty-five  years  ago, 
would  have  wondered  where  on  earth  the  creature  came 
from.  Of  one  thing  he  would  have  been  certain — this 
13 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

flunkey  could  not  have  been  made  in  the  United  States 
of  America.  Within  the  past  quarter  of  a  century, 
however,  the  imported  menial  has  become  one  of  our 
institutions  and  he  is  the  outward  sign  of  a  momentous 
change  within  the  mind  of  the  class  who  have  ruled  our 
society. 

The  crown-embossed  electric  lantern  above  the  mas- 
sive table  in  the  center  of  the  room  flooded  the  gold 
and  scarlet  cloth  with  light. 

Waldron  with  a  quick  gesture  of  command  spoke 
sharply : 

"Be  seated,  gentlemen." 

The  two  men  instinctively  brought  their  heels  together 
and  took  seats  within  the  circle  of  light.  The  master 
of  the  house  paused  a  moment  in  deep  thought  before 
the  stately  Louis  XIV  window  looking  out  on  the  broad 
waters  of  the  Hudson. 

His  yacht,  a  huge  ocean  greyhound  whose  nose  had 
scented  the  channels  of  every  harbor  of  the  world,  lay 
at  anchor  in  the  stream  along  the  heights  of  upper 
Manhattan,  her  keen  prow  bent  seaward  by  the  swift 
tide. 

The  strong  face  of  the  master  of  men  was  flushed 

with  an  inward  fire.    His  gray  eyes  glowed.    His  jaws 

suddenly  came  together  with  decision.    He  turned  from 

the  window  as  if  to  join  the  two  at  the  table  and  paused 

14 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

in  his  trades  studying  the  face  of  Meyer,  the  tall  an- 
gular fellow  who  was  evidently  impatient  at  the  delay. 

Waldron  had  suddenly  made  up  his  mind  to  trust 
this  man  with  a  most  important  mission.  And  yet  he 
disliked  him.  He  was  the  type  that  must  be  used,  but 
held  with  an  iron  hand — the  modern  enthusiast  with 
scientific  knowledge. 

The  smaller  man,  Mora,  was  easy — the  nose  of  a 
ferret,  coarse  black  cropped  beard  and  thick  sensuous 
lips.  He  could  be  managed — yes.  He  could  be  trusted 
—yes. 

The  other — he  studied  again — the  strongly  marked 
angular  features,  the  large  brilliant  eyes,  big  nostrils 
and  high  forehead.  He  could  be  used  for  the  first 
steps — it  might  be  necessary  to  hang  him  later.  All 
right,  he  would  use  him  and  then  let  him  hang  himself 
— suicide  was  common  with  his  type. 

Waldron  smiled,  quickly  approached  the  table 
and  took  his  seat.  He  nodded  to  Meyer  and  spoke 
suavely : 

"Your  invention  has  been  perfected?" 

The  deep  lines  about  the  thinker's  mouth  twitched. 
He  suddenly  thrust  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  drew  out  a 
box  and  placed  it  under  the  light. 

"I  have  it  with  me." 

Mora  bent  close  and  Waldron  watched  keenly  as 
15 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Meyer  opened  the  leathern  case  and  exposed  the  new- 
device  which  he  had  promised  to  perfect. 

"Examine  the  mechanisms,"  he  said,  passing  it  to 
Waldron.  "It's  perfectly  harmless  at  present.  The 
clockwork  inside  is  as  delicate  as  a  Swiss  watch." 

The  master  of  the  house  placed  the  smooth  round 
surface  to  his  ear,  listened,  laughed  softly  and  passed 
it  to  Mora. 

Meyer  spoke  with  the  certainty  of  positive  knowledge, 
holding  Waldron's  eye  with  a  steady  gaze. 

"I  guarantee  to  stop  the  trade  of  this  money-grab- 
bing nation  with  all  belligerents.  I'll  sink  a  ship  from 
inside  her  hold  as  slick  as  that  torpedo  ten  days  ago 
got  the  Lusitania — " 

Waldron  made  no  reply.  His  jaw  merely  closed 
tightly. 

The  throb  of  an  automobile  climbing  the  steep  road- 
way from  the  river  drive  struck  the  window.  Waldron 
rose,  listened  a  moment,  walked  to  the  casement  and 
looked  out. 

A  tall,  distinguished-looking  man  with  deep-cut  lines 
in  his  strong  face,  who  moved  with  military  precision, 
opened  the  door  of  the  tonneau  without  waiting  for  the 
chauffeur  and  leaped  out. 

The  flunkey  in  the  hall  was  evidently  expecting 
his  arrival.  Villard  whispered  to  the  servant  who 
16 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

closed  the  door  quickly  and  led  the  way  to  the 
library. 

The  new  guest  was  evidently  nervous  in  spite  of  his 
well  drilled  manners.  In  his  right  hand  he  gripped  an 
extra  edition  of  a  New  York  sensational  evening  paper. 

Villard  himself  brushed  the  flunkey  aside  and  rapped 
on  the  library  door.  Waldron  opened  and  closed  it 
instantly  on  his  entrance.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
fact  that  the  newcomer  bore  an  important  message. 
His  deep,  cold,  blue  eyes  glowed  with  excitement  and  his 
hand  visibly  trembled.  He  drew  his  host  to  the  window, 
opened  the  crumpled  copy  of  the  paper  and  pointed  to 
its  huge  head  lines: 

CONGRESSMAN  VASSAR  OF  NEW 
YORK  INTRODUCES  BILL  DEMAND- 
ING A  GREAT  NAVY  AND  A  MILLION 
(TRAINED  MEN  FOR  DEFENSE! 

"This  is  a  serious  business" — Villard  said  curtly. 

Waldron  smiled: 

"Serious — yes — unless  we  know  how  to  meet  the 
crisis.  I  happen  to  know — " 

"It  can  be  defeated  then?" 

"It  will  be  defeated,"  was  the  quiet  reply.  "Many 
bills  are  introduced  into  our  supreme  law-making  body, 
17 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Villard — But  few  are  passed.  This  is  one  that  will  die 
an  early  and  easy  death — " 

"You  are  sure?" 

"As  that  I'm  living.  Come — sit  down."  Waldron 
moved  toward  the  table  and  Villard  quickly  followed. 

Waldron  handed  the  paper  to  Meyer  without  com- 
ment and  quietly  watched  him  explode  with  excitement. 
Mora,  too,  was  swept  from  his  feet  for  the  moment. 

"It  means — sir?"  Meyer  gasped. 

"That  we  will  move  a  little  more  quickly — that  is 
all,"  Waldron  answered. 

The  three  men  leaned  close,  each  awaiting  with  evi- 
dent deference  the  word  of  the  master  mind. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  fact  that  one  mind 
dominated  the  group.  The  high  intellectual  forehead 
of  the  man  of  millions  marked  him  at  once  as  a  born 
leader  and  master  of  men.  There  was  a  consciousness 
of  power  in  the  poise  of  his  big  body  and  the  slow  move- 
ment of  his  piercing  eyes  that  commanded  attention 
and  respect  from  his  bitterest  foe. 

"Of  course,  gentlemen,"  he  began  calmly,  "if  we 
had  in  this  country  an  intelligent  and  capable  govern- 
ment we  would  be  up  against  a  serious  situation.  We 
have  no  such  government.  The  alleged  Democracy 
under  which  we  live  is  the  most  asinine  contrivance  ever 
devised  by  theorists  and  dreamers.  It  never  makes 
18 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

an  important  move  until  too  late  and  then  will  certainly 
do  the  wrong  thing  in  the  moment  of  crisis.  [There  is 
but  one  thing  jyou  can  always  depend  on  at  every  ses- 
sion of  Congress.  They  will  pass  the  bill  dividing  the 
Pork  Barrel  among  the  Congressional  Districts.  The 
average  Congressman  considers  this  his  first  duty — the 
rest  is  of  but  slight  importance — " 

Villard  laughed  heartily.  £The  two  others  joined 
feebly.  They  were  not  so  sure  of  the  situation.  Their 
knowledge  of  Waldron's  power  and  the  accuracy  of  his 
judgment  was  not  so  clear  as  the  older  man's. 

"Not  only  have  we  the  most  corrupt  and  incompetent 
government  of  all  history,"  Waldron  went  on,  "but 
to  add  to  its  confusion  and  weakness  we  Have  lately 
thrust  the  duties  of  the  ballot  upon  millions  of  hys- 
terical women  utterly  unfitted  for  its  responsibilities. 
It  is  an  actual  fact  that  the  women  now  enfranchised 
in  the  Middle  and  Western  states  hold  the  balance  of 
power — " 

Yillard  suddenly  leaped  to  his  feet. 
,     "And  they  will  vote  solidly  against  every  programme 
of  preparation !" 

Waldron  nodded. 

*How  fortunate  a?  this  moment!"  Villard  went  on 
enthusiastically,  "that  the  women  rule  American  men. 
I  begin  to  see  the  reason  for  your  confidence.     You 
19 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

will  enlist  of  course  the  eloquent  young  leader  who 
addressed  the  mob  in  Union  Square  last  week?" 

"At  once,"  Waldron  answered  quickly.  "Virginia 
Holland  is  one  of  the  feminine  gods  at  the  moment.  It's 
amazing  with  what  blind  worship  her  disciples  follow — " 
"She's  a  stunning  young  woman,  sir !"  Villard  broke 
in  gallantly.  "By  Jove,  she  stirred  me..  You  can't 
neglect  her—" 

"I  shall  cultivate  her  at  once,"  was  the  quiet  answer. 
"In  the  meantime,  Meyer" — Waldron  paused  and  held 
the  enthusiast's  eye  for  an  instant  and  went  on  rapidly 
—"we  will  forget  the  ships—" 

Meyer  frowned  in  surprise  but  had  no  time  to 
answer  before  he  received  the  curt  order  in  an  under- 
tone. 

"Wait  for  me — I've  more  important  work  for  jou." 
Waldron  rose  and  drew  Villard  and  Mora  aside. 

^Without  ceremony  he  placed  five  yellow-backed  one 
hundred  dollar  bills  in  Yillard's  hands  and  a  single  one 
in  Mora's. 

"We  hold  a  great  Peace  rally  to  launch  the  popular 
movement  against  this  bill  to  establish  militarism  in  the 
United  States.  The  classes  who  cherish  varied  theories 
of  peace  will  join  us.  The  Honorable  Plato  Barker  is 
at  the  moment  the  leader  of  the  peace  yodelers.  He  is 
a  professional  lecturer  who  loves  the  sound  of  his  own 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

voice.  He  knows  you,  Villard,  and  prizes  your  opinions 
on  Peace — " 

Villard  gave  a  dry  little  laugh. 

"You  will  personally  see  the  Honorable  Plato  and 
secure  him  as  our  principal  speaker.  And  you,  Mora, 
happen  to  know  the  Reverend  A.  Cuthbert  Pike,  D.D., 
President  of  the  American  Peace  Union.  His  church 
maintains  some  missionaries  in  your  benighted  native 
land.  His  office  is  at  the  Bible  House.  I  want  him  to 
introduce  the  Honorable  Plato  Barker — " 

Mora  smiled  and  bowed,  and  the  two  hurried  to 
execute  their  orders.  Villard's  car  was  waiting.  The 
master  of  the  house  took  Meyer's  arm,  led  him  to  the 
corner  of  the  library  and  for  half  an  hour  gave  explicit 
instructions  in  low  tones. 

Before  showing  Meyer  to  the  door  another  roll  of 
bills  was  duly  delivered  for  defraying  the  expenses  of 
his  important  work.  The  enthusiast  brought  his  heels 
together  with  a  sharp  click,  saluted  and  hurried  down 
the  broad  stairs.  He  declined  the  offer  of  an  auto- 
mobile. He  didn't  like  millionaires.  He  only  used 
them. 

Waldron  watched  him  go  with  a  curious  smile,  drew 
on  his  gloves  and  called  for  his  hat  and  cane. 

The  flunkey  who  hovered  near  obeyed  the  order  with 
quick  servility  and  stood  watching  his  master  go  by 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  broad  porte-cochere,  wondering  why  the  order  had 
not  been  given  him  for  the  car. 

Waldron  signaled  his  night  chauffeur,  and  the  big 
limousine  darted  to  the  stoop.  As  the  driver  leaned 
out  to  receive  his  orders,  Waldron  spoke  in  low  tones : 

"To  Miss  Virginia  Holland's  on  Stuyvesant 
Square — " 

The  driver  nodded  and  closed  the  door  of  the  limou- 
sine. He  had  been  there  before. 


CHAPTER  II 

VIRGINIA  HOLLAND,  at  her  desk  preparing 
an  address  on  the  Modern  Feminist  Movement, 
dropped  her  pencil  and  raised  her  head  with 
a  look  of  startled  surprise  at  the  cry  of  a  newsboy  in 
the  street  below.  The  whole  block  seemed  to  vibrate 
with  his  uncanny  yell : 

"Wuxtra !     Wuxtra !" 

A  sense  of  impending  calamity  caught  her  heart  for 
a  moment.  It  was  a  morbid  fancy,  of  course,  and  yet 
the  cry  of  the  boy  kept  ringing  a  personal  warning. 

Work  impossible,  she  opened  her  door,  called  and 
asked  her  brother  Billy  to  get  a  copy  of  the  paper. 

Before  he  returned  her  anxiety  had  increased  to  the 
point  of  pain.  She  rapidly  descended  the  stairs  and 
waited  at  the  door. 

Billy  entered  reading  the  headlines  announcing  Vas- 
sar's  new  programme  of  military  preparation.  Virginia 
flushed  and  gazed  at  the  announcement  with  increas- 
ing excitement.  The  name  of  John  Vassar  had  caused 
a  flush  before  the  announcement  of  his  bill  had  made 
an  impression.  Her  handsome  Congressman  neighbor, 
23 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

though  they  had  never  formally  met,  had  for  some 
months  past  been  a  disturbing  factor  in  a  life  of 
hitherto  serene  indifference  to  men.  That  he  should 
have  antagonized  in  this  bill  her  well  known  position 
as  the  uncompromising  advocate  of  peace  and  of  uni- 
versal disarmament  was  a  shock.  His  proposal  to  arm 
the  American  Democracy  came  as  a  slap  in  her  face. 
She  felt  it  a  personal  affront. 

Of  course  she  had  no  right  to  such  feeling.  John 
Yassar  was  nothing  to  her!  She  had  only  seen  him 
pass  her  window  three  times  3urmg  the  year.  And  yet 
the  longer  she  gazed  at  the  announcement  the  more 
furious  she  became.  At  least  he  might  have  consulted 
her  as  the  leading  public-spirited  woman  in  his  district 
on  this  measure  of  such  transcendent  importance.  He 
had  not  done  so,  for  a  simple  reason.  He  knew  that 
she  opposed  militarism  as  the  first  article  of  her  life 
faith.  Her  hand  closed  on  the  paper  in  a  grip  of  re- 
sentment. She  made  up  her  mind  instantly  to  force 
his  hand  on  the  suffrage  issue.  She  would  show  him 
that  she  had  some  power  in  his  District. 

Her  mood  of  absorbed  anger  was  suddenly  broken 
by  Billy's  joyous  cry: 

"Hurrah  for  John  Vassar,  sis.  Me  for  West  Point ! 
Will  you  make  him  appoint  me?" 

She  turned  in   sudden  rage  and  boxed  her  young 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

brother's  ears,  smiled  at  his  surprise,  threw  her  arms 
around  his  neck  and  kissed  him.  She  boxed  his  ears 
for  crying  hurrah  for  Vassar.  She  kissed  him  for  the 
compliment  of  her  supposed  power  over  the  coming 
statesman. 

To  hide  her  confusion  she  began  at  once  a  heated 
argument  over  the  infamies  of  a  military  regime.  The 
quarrel  broke  the  peaceful  scene  of  a  game  of  checkers 
between  the  father  and  mother  in  the  sitting-room,  and 
brought  the  older  people  into  the  hall: 

"In  heaven's  name,  Virginia!"  her  father  exclaimed. 
"What  is  the  matter?" 

"Read  it" — she  answered  angrily,  thrusting  the  paper 
into  his  hand. 

The  Grand  Army  veteran  read  with  sparkling  eyes. 

"Good!"  he  shouted. 

"That's  what  I  say,  father !"  Billy  echoed. 

"It's  absurd,"  Virginia  protested.  "War  on  this 
country  is  impossible.  It's  unthinkable — " 

The  old  soldier  suddenly  seized  her  hand. 

"Impossible,  is  it?     Come  with  me  a  minute,  Miss!" 

He  drew  her  into  the  library  followed  by  Billy — the 
mother  striving  gently  to  keep  the  peace. 

Holland  led  his  eloquent  daughter  to  the  rack  above 
the  center  Bookcase  and  took  from  its  place  his  army 
musket. 

25 


THE  FALL  OF,  A  NATION 

"That's  what  they  said,  my  girl,  in  '61.  Here's 
the  answer.  That's  what  your  grandmother  said  to 
your  grandfather.  That's  why  we've  bungled  every 
war  we  ever  fought  and  paid  for  it  in  rivers  of  blood !" 

The  family  row  started  anew — the  father  and  boy 
for  preparation  against  war,  the  daughter  and  mother 
for  peace — peace  at  any  price. 

The  quarrel  was  at  its  height  when  Waldron's  car 
arrive'd. 

Old  Peter,  the  stately  negro  Eutler  of  the  ancient 
regime,  closed  the  folding  doors  to  drown  the  din  before 
ushering  the  distinguished  guest  into  the  parlor.  Wal- 
dron was  a  prime  favorite  of  Peter's.  The  millionaire 
had  slipped  him  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  on  a  former 
occasion  and  no  argument  of  friend  or  foe  could  shake 
his  firm  conviction  that  Charles  Waldron  was  a  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school.  Besides,  Peter  was  consumed 
with  family  pride  in  Virginia's  hold  on  so  distinguished 
a  leader  of  the  big  world. 

The  old  butler  bowed  his  stateliest  at  the  3oor  of 
the  parlor  with  the  slightest  hesitation  on  his  exit  as 
if  the  memory  of  the  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  lingered 
in  spite  of  his  resolution  to  hold  himself  above  the 
influence  of  filthy  lucre. 

"I  tell  Miss  Virginia,  right  away,  sah — yassah!" 

Waldron  seated  himself  witK  confidence.  Virginia 
26 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Holland  lingered  a  few  minutes  merely  to  show  the 
great  man  that  she  was  not  consumed  with  pride  at  his 
attentions.  That  she  appreciated  the  compliment  of 
his  admiration  she  would  not  have  denied  even  to  John 
Vassar.  LWaldron  had  made  the  largest  single  con- 
tribution to  the  Woman's  Movement  it  had  received  in 
America.  She  had  gotten  the  credit  of  winning  the 
great  man's  favor  and  opening  his  purse  strings. 

That  the  millionaire  was  interested  in  her  charming 
personality  she  had  not  doubted  from  the  first.  He 
left  no  room  for  doubt  in  the  eagerness  with  which 
he  openly  sought  her  favor. 

And  yet  it  had  never  occurred  to  her  to  think  of  him 
as  a  real  lover.  There  was  something  so  blunt  and 
material  in  his  personality  that  it  forbade  a  romance. 
She  could  imagine  him  asking  a  woman  to  marry  him. 
But  in  the  wildest  leap  of  her  fancy  she  had  not  been 
able  to  conceive  of  his  making  love.  In  her  strictly 
modern  business  woman's  mind  she  was  simply  using  her 
influence  over  the  great  man  for  all  it  was  worth  in  a 
perfectly  legitimate  way  and  always  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  Cause. 

She  greeted  him  with"  a  gracious  smile  an3  He  Eowed 
over  her  hand  after  the  fashion  of  the  European  cour- 
tier in  a  way  that  half  amused  her  and  half  pleased  her 
vanity. 

27 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  held  a  copy  of  the  evening  paper. 

"You  have  read  it?" 

Virginia  nodded. 

Waldron  went  straight  to  the  point  in  his  cold,  im- 
personal but  impressive  way. 

"You  are  the  most  eloquent  leader  of  American 
women,  Miss  Holland.  Your  voice  commands  the  widest 
hearing.  You  stand  for  peace  and  universal  brother- 
hood. Will  you  preside  at  a  mass  meeting  tomorrow 
night  to  protest  against  this  infamous  bill?" 

Virginia  Holland  had  given  her  consent  mentally  until 
he  used  the  word  "infamous."  Somehow  it  didn't  fit 
John  Vassar's  character  and  instinctively  she  re- 
sented it. 

She  blushed  for  an  instant  at  her  silly  inconsistency. 
But  a  moment  ago  she  had  herself  denounced  the 
young  statesman  with  unmeasured  violence.  In 
the  next  moment  she  was  resenting  an  attack  on 
him. 

Waldron  watched  her  hesitation  with  surprise  and 
renewed  his  plea  with  more  warmth  than  he  had  ever 
displayed. 

Virginia  extended  her  hand  in  a  quick  business-like 
way. 

"Of  course  I'll  preside.  We  are  fighting  for  the  same 
great  end." 

28 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Waldron  made  no  effort  to  press  his  victory.  He 
rose  at  once  to  go,  and  bowed  low  over  her  hand. 

"Au  revoir — tomorrow  night,"  he  said  in  low  tones. 

Virginia  watched  him  go  with  a  mingled  feeling  of 
triumph  and  fear.  There  was  something  about  the  man 
that  puzzled  and  annoyed  her — something  unconvincing 
in  his  apparent  frankness.  And  yet  the  truth  about  his 
big  life  purpose  never  for  a  moment  entered  her 
imagination. 


CHAPTER  III 

WHEN  Meyer  reached  the  quarter  of  the  East 
Side  where  eager  crowds  surge  through  a 
little  crooked  thoroughfare  leading  from  the 
old  Armory  on  Essex  Street  he  encountered  unexpected 
difficulties. 

He  ran  into  a  section  of  John  Vassar's  congressional 
district  saturated  with  the  young  leader's  ideals  of  a 
new  Americanism.  He  was  coldly  received. 

Benda,  the  Italian  fruit-dealer  on  the  corner,  Meyer 
had  marked  finally  as  his  opening  wedge  in  the  little 
clannish  community.  The  Italian  was  the  most  popular 
man  on  the  street,  his  store  the  meeting-place  of  the 
wives  and  children  for  three  blocks. 

Meyer  entered  the  store  and  to  his  surprise  found  it 
deserted.  The  sounds  of  laughter  in  the  little  suite 
of  living-room  and  kitchen  behind  the  store  told  of 
festivities  in  progress.  He  waited  impatiently  for  the 
proprietor  to  return. 

Benda  was  presiding  at  a  function  too  important 
to  be  interrupted  by  thoughts  of  trade.  With  Angela, 
his  wife,  and  the  neighbors,  he  was  celebrating  the  fifth 
30 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

birthday  of  their  only  boy,  Tommaso,  Jr.  The  kids 
from  far  and  near  were  bringing  their  little  presents 
and  Pasquale,  his  best  friend,  who  was  returning  to 
Italy  by  the  next  steamer,  had  generously  given  his 
monkey  and  hand-organ.  Benda  himself  had  escorted 
Pasquale  into  the  room  and  had  just  sprung  the  big 
surprise  on  the  assembled  party. 

Pasquale  was  putting  the  monkey  through  his  tricks 
amid  screams  of  laughter  when  Meyer's  dark  face 
clouded  the  door  leading  from  the  store. 

He  beckoned  angrily  to  Benda. 

"May  I  see  you  a  minute?" 

Benda  sprang  to  meet  the  unexpected  appari- 
tion in  his  doorway  while  Angela  led  Pasquale  and  the 
children  into  the  street  for  a  grand  concert.  Meyer's 
tense  face  had  not  passed  without  her  swift 
glance. 

She  left  the  children  dancing  and  entered  the  store 
from  the  front.  Meyer  had  just  offered  Benda  good 
wages  for  his  services  in  the  cause  and  the  Italian  was 
tempted  and  puzzled. 

Angela  suddenly  confronted  Meyer.  His  suave  ex- 
planation that  the  alliance  which  he  had  invited  Benda 
to  join  was  a  benevolent  order  for  self-protection  was 
not  convincing. 

The  wife  swung  her  husband  suddenly  aside  and 
•  31 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

stepped  between  the  two.  She  fairly  threw  her  words 
into  Meyer's  face. 

"You  go  now!  My  man  stick  to  his  beesness.  He 
mak  good  mon.  We  got  our  little  home." 

Meyer  attempted  to  argue.  Benda  tried  to  edge  in 
a  word.  It  was  useless.  Angela's  shrill  voice  rose 
in  an  endless  chorus  of  protest. 

Benda  threw  up  his  hands  in  surrender  and  re-entered 
the  store.  Meyer  angrily  turned  on  his  heel  and  crossed 
the  street  to  see  Schultz,  the  delicatessen  man  on  the 
opposite  corner. 

Schultz  proved  impossible  from  the  first.  His  jovial 
face  was  wreathed  in  smiles  but  his  voice  was  firm  in 
its  deep  mumbling  undertone. 

"No — mein  frient — no  more  drill  for  me — I  fight  no 
more  except  for  the  flag  dot  give  me  mein  freedom  and 
mein  home!" 

The  two  men  held  each  other's  gaze  in  a  moment  of 
dramatic  tension.  The  menace  in  Meyer's  voice  was 
unmistakable  as  he  answered: 

"I'll  see  you  again !" 


CHAPTER  IV 

JOHN  VASSAR'S  triumphant  return  to  his  home 
on   Stuyvesant  Square,  after  the  introduction 
of  his  sensational  bill  in  Congress,  was  beset  with 
domestic    complications.       Congratulations    from    his 
father,  nieces,  and  Wanda  had  scarcely  been  received 
before  the  trouble  began. 

"But  you  must  hear  Miss  Holland !"  Zonia  pleaded. 

John  Vassar  shook  his  head. 

"Not  tonight,  dear—" 

"I'd  set  my  heart  on  introducing  you.  Ah,  Uncy; 
dear — please!  She's  the  most  eloquent  orator  in 
America — " 

"That's  why  I  hate  her  and  all  her  tribe—" 

A  rosy  cheek  pressed  close  to  his. 

"Not  all  her  tribe—" 

"My  Zonia — no — but  I  could  wring  her  neck  for 
leading  a  chick  of  your  years  into  her  fool  move- 
ment—" 

"But  she  didn't  lead  me,  Uncy  dear,  I  just  saw  it 
all  in  a  flash  while  she  was  speaking — my  duty  to  my 
sex  and  the  world — " 

33 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Duty  to  your  sex!  What  do  you  know  about  duty 
to  your  sex? — you  infant  barely  out  of  short  dresses! 
Your  hair  ought  to  be  still  in  braids.  And  it  was  all 
my  fault.  I  let  you  out  of  the  nursery  too  soon — " 

He  paused  and  looked  at  her  wistfully. 

"And  I  promised  your  father's  spirit  the  day  you 
came  to  us  here  that  I'd  guard  you  as  my  own — you 
and  little  Marya.  I  haven't  done  my  duty.  I've  been 
too  busy  with  big  things  to  realize  that  I  was  neglect- 
ing the  biggest  thing  in  the  world.  You've  slipped  away 
from  me,  dear — and  I'm  heartsick  over  it.  Maybe  I'll 
be  in  time  for  Marya — you're  lost  at  eighteen — " 

"Marya's  joined  our  Club  too — " 

"A  babe  of  twelve?" 

"She's  going  to  be  Miss  Holland's  page  in  the  suf- 
frage Pageant — " 

John  Vassar  groaned,  laid  both  hands  on  the  girl's 
shoulders  and  rose  abruptly. 

"Now,  Zonia,  it's  got  to  stop  here  and  now.  I'm 
not  going  to  allow  this  brazen  Amazon — " 

His  niece  broke  into  a  fit  of  laughter. 

"Brazen  Amazon?" 

"That's  what  I  said.  This  brazen  Amazon  is  my 
enemy — " 

The  girl  lifted  her  finger  laughingly. 

"But  you're  not  afraid  of  her?  John  Vassar,  a 
34 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

descendant  of  old  Yan  Vasa  in  whose  veins  ran  the 
royal  blood  of  Poland — ten  years  in  Congress  from  this 
big  East  Side  district — the  idol  of  the  people — chair- 
man of  the  National  House  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs"^ — she  paused  and  her  voice  dropped  to  the 
tensest  pride — "my  candidate  for  governor  of  New 
York-1 — you  positively  won't  go  to  the  meeting  in  Union 
Square  tonight?"  she  added  quietly. 

"Positively—" 

"Then,  Uncy  dear,  I'll  have  to  deliver  the  message — " 

She  drew  a  crumpled  note  from  her  bosom  and  handed 
it  to  him  without  a  word. 

He  broke  the  seal  and  read  with  set  lips ; 

HON.  JOHN  VASSAR,  M.  C., 

16  STUYVESANT  SQUARE, 
NEW  YORK. 

DEAR  SIR:  Our  committee  in  charge  of  the  can- 
vass of  your  congressional  district  in  the  cam- 
paign for  woman's  suffrage  have  tried  in  vain  to 
obtain  an  expression  of  your  views.  We  are  mak- 
ing a  house  to  house  canvass  of  every  voter  in 
New  York.  You  have  thus  far  side-stepped  us. 

You  are  a  man  of  too  much  power  in  the  State 
and  nation  to  overlook  in  such  a  fight.  The  Con- 
gressional Directory  informs  us  that  you  are 
barely  thirty-six  years  old.  You  have  already 
served  ten  years  in  Washington  with  distinction 
35 


,THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

i  *~~ 

and  have  won  your  spurs  as  a  national  leader. 
A  great  future  awaits  you  unless  you  incur  the 
united  opposition  of  the  coming  woman  voter. 

I  warn  you  that  we  are  going  to  sweep  the  Em- 
pire State.  Your  majority  is  large  and  has  in- 
creased at  each  election.  It  is  not  large  enough 
if  we  mark  you  for  defeat,  I  have  sincerely 
hoped  that  we  might  win  you  for  our  cause. 

I  ask  for  a  declaration  of  your  position.  You 
must  be  for  us  or  against  us.  There  can  be  no 
longer  a  middle  course. 

I  should  deeply  regret  the  necessity  of  your 
defeat  if  you  force  the  issue.  Your  niece  has 
quite  won  my  heart  and  her  passionate  enthusiasm 
for  her  distinguished  uncle  has  led  me  to  delay 
this  important  message  until  the  introduction  of 
your  bill  for  militarism  has  forced  it. 
Sincerely, 

VIRGINIA  HOLLAND, 
Pres't  National  Campaign  Committee. 

John  Vassar  read  the  letter  a  second  time,  touched 
the  tips  of  his  mustache  thoughtfully  and  fixed  his  eyes 
on  Zonia. 

"And  my  little  sweetheart  will  join  the  enemy  in  this 
campaign !" 

A  tear  trembled  on  the  dark  lashes. 

"Ah,  Uncy  darling,  how  could  you  think  such  a 
thing!'* 

36 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You  bring  this  challenge — " 

"I  only  want  to  vote — to — elect — you — governor — " 

The  voice  broke  in  a  sob,  as  he  bent  and  kissed  the 
smooth  young  brow. 

She  clung  to  him  tenderly. 

"Uncy  dear,  just  for  my  sake,  because  I  love  you  so 
— because  you're  my  hero — won't  you  do  something  for 
me — Just  because  7  ask  it?" 

"Maybe—" 

"Go  to  Union  Square  with  me  then — " 

He  shook  his  head  emphatically. 

"Against  my  principles,  dear — " 

"It's  not  against  your  principles  to  make  me  happy  ?" 

He  took  her  cheeks  between  his  hands. 

"Seeing  that  I've  raised  you  from  a  chick — I  don't 
think  there  ought  to  be  much  doubt  about  how  I  stand 
on  the  woman  question  as  far  as  it  affects  two  little 
specimens  of  the  tribe — do  you?" 

"All  right  then,"  she  cried  gayly,  "you  love 
Marya  and  me.  We  are  women.  You  can't  refuse 
us  a  little  old  thing  like  a  ballot  if  we  want  it — 
can  you?" 

She  paused  and  kissed  him  again. 

"So  now,  Uncy,  you're  going  to  hear  Miss  Holland 
speak  just  to  make  me  happy — aren't  you?" 

He  smiled  and  surrendered. 
87 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"To  make  you  happy — yes — " 

He  couldn't  say  more.  The  arms  were  too  tight 
about  his  neck. 

He  drew  them  gently  down. 

"This  is  what  I  dread  in  politics,  dear — when  the 
women  go  in  to  win.  We've  graft  enough  now.  When 
the  boys  run  up  against  this  sort  of  thing — God  help 
us ! — and  God  save  the  country  if  you  should  happen 
to  make  a  mistake  in  what  you  ask  for!  Well,  you've 
won  this  fight — come  on,  let's  get  up  front  and  hear 
the  argument.  I  hate  to  stand  on  the  edge  and  wonder 
what  the  hen  is  saying  when  she  crows — " 

Zonia  handed  his  hat  and  cane  and,  radiant  with 
smiles,  opened  the  door. 

"I  suppose  we'll  let  Marya  stay  with  Grandpa?"  he 
asked. 

"They've  been  gone  half  an  hour !" 

"Oh—" 

"I  had  no  trouble  with  Grandpa  at  all.  He  agreed 
to  sit  on  the  platform  with  me — " 

"Indeed!" 

"But  I  don't  think  he  really  understood  what  the 
meeting  was  about — " 

"Just  to  please  his  grandchick,  however,  the  old 
traitor  agreed  to  preside  at  my  funeral — eh?" 

"He  won't  if  you  say  not — shall  I  tell  him  to  keep 
38 


THE  FALL  Of1  A  NATION 

off?  Marya  will  be  awfully  disappointed  if  we  make 
them  get  down — " 

"No — let  him  stay.  Maybe  he  can  placate  the  enemy. 
They  can  hold  him  as  hostage  for  my  good  behavior.'* 

The  hand  on  his  arm  pressed  tighter. 

"It's  so  sweet  of  you,  Uncy!" 

"At  what  hour  does  this  paragon  of  all  the  virtues, 
male  and  female,  harangue  the  mob?" 

"You  mean  Miss  Holland?" 

"Yes." 

"Oh,  they'll  all  be  there  tonight.  Miss  Holland  is 
the  principal  speaker  for  the  Federated  Women's  Clubs 
of  America — she's  the  president,  you  know — " 

"No— I  didn't  know—" 

"She  won't  speak  until  9 :30.  We  can  hear  the  others 
first.  There'll  be  some  big  guns  among  the  men  too — 
the  Honorable  Plato  Barker  and  the  Reverend  A.  Cuth- 
bert  Pike,  the  president  of  the  American  Peace  Union 
— and  Waldron,  the  multi-millionaire,  he  presides  at 
Miss  Holland's  stand—" 

"Indeed—" 

"Yes — they  say  he's  in  love  with  her  but  she  doesn't 
care  a  rap  for  him  or  any  other  man — " 

John  Vassar  had  ceased  to  hear  Zonia's  chatter.  The 
name  of  Charles  Waldron  had  started  a  train  of  ugly 
thought.  Of  all  the  leaders  of  opinion  in  .America  this 
39 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

man  was  his  pet  aversion.  He  loathed  his  personality. 
He  hated  his  newspaper  with  a  fury  which  words  could 
not  express.  It  stood  squarely  for  every  tendency  of 
degenerate  materialism  in  our  life,  a  worship  of  money 
and  power  first  and  last  against  all  sentiment  and  all 
the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  the  masses.  He  posed 
as  the  Pecksniffian  leader  of  Reform  and  the  reform  he 
advocated  always  meant  the  lash  for  the  man  who 
toils.  His  hatreds  were  implacable,  too,  and  he  used 
the  power  of  his  money  with  unscrupulous  brutality. 
He  had  lately  extended  the  chain  of  banks  which  he 
owned  in  New  York  until  they  covered  the  leading 
cities  of  every  state  in  the  Union.  His  newspaper,  the 
Evening  Courier,  was  waging  an  unceasing  campaign 
for  the  establishment  of  an  American  aristocracy  of 
wealth  and  culture. 

Vassar  was  cudgeling  his  brain  over  the  mystery  of 
this  man's  sudden  enthusiasm  for  woman  suffrage  and 
the  Cause  of  Universal  Peace.  It  was  a  sinister  sign 
of  the  times.  He  rarely  advocated  a  losing  cause.  That 
this  cold-blooded  materialist  could  believe  in  the  dream 
of  human  emancipation  through  the  influence  of  women 
was  preposterous. 

Zonia  might  be  right,  of  course,  in  saying  that  he 
had  become  infatuated  with  the  young  Amazon  leader 
of  the  Federated  Women's  Clubs.    And  yet  that  would 
40 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hardly  account  for  his  presence  as  the  presiding  genius 
of  a  grand  rally  for  suffrage.  There  were  too  many 
factions  represented  in  such  a  demonstration  for  his 
personal  interest  in  one  woman  to  explain  his  activity 
in  bringing  those  people  together.  His  paper  had,  in 
fact,  led  the  appeal  to  co-ordinate  Demagogery,  Labor, 
Peace  Propaganda,  Socialism,  and  Feminism  in  one 
monster  mass  meeting. 

The  longer  Vassar  puzzled  over  it,  the  more  im- 
penetrable became  Waldron's  motive.  His  leadership 
in  the  movement  was  uncanny.  ^Vhat  did  it  mean? 


CHAPTER  V 

IT  was  barely  seven  when  they  reached  Union  Square. 
It  was  already  packed  by  a  dense  crowd  of  good- 
natured  cheering  men  and  women.     Seventy-five 
thousand  was  a  conservative  estimate.     The  air  was 
electric  with  contagious  enthusiasm. 

"We'll  hear  the  apostle  of  peace  first,"  Vassar  said 
to  Zonia,  pushing  his  way  slowly  through  the  crowd 
toward  a  platform  with  three-foot  letters  covering  its 
four  sides: 

PEACE!   PEACE!   PEACE!   PEACE! 

The  Reverend  A.  Cuthbert  Pike,  president  of  the 
Peace  Union  of  America,  was  delivering  the  opening 
address  as  the  chairman  of  his  meeting.  He  was  a 
funny-looking  little  man  of  slight  features,  bald  and 
decorated  with  a  set  of  aggressive  side  whiskers.  His 
manner  was  quick  and  nervous,  electric  in  its  nervous- 
ness, his  voice  in  striking  contrast  to  the  jerky  pug- 
nacity of  his  body.  The  tones  were  soft  and  dreaming, 
as  if  he  were  trying  to  subdue  the  tendency  of  the 
flesh  to  fight  for  what  he  believed  to  be  right. 
41 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  leaned  far  over  the  rail  of  the  platform  and 
breathed  his  words  over  the  crowd: 

"Two  great  powers  contend  for  the  mastery  of  the 
world,  my  friends,"  he  was  saying.  "The  spirit  of 
Christ  and  the  spirit  of  Napoleon.  The  one  would  over- 
come evil  with  good.  The  other  would  hurl  evil  against 
evil.  One  stands  for  love,  humility,  self-sacrifice.  The 
other  stands  for  the  hate,  pride  and  avarice  of  the 
militarism  of  today — " 

Vassar  lost  the  next  sentence.  His  mind  had 
leaped  the  seas  and  stood  with  brooding  wonder  over 
the  miracle  of  self-sacrifice  of  a  thousand  blood- 
drenched  trenches  and  battlefields  where  millions  of 
stout-hearted  men  were  now  laying  their  lives  on  the 
altar  of  their  country — an  offering  of  simple  love.  They 
had  left  the  selfish  pursuit  of  pleasure  and  wealth  and 
individual  aggrandizement  and  merged  their  souls  and 
bodies  into  the  wider  life  of  humanity — the  hopes  and 
aspirations  of  a  race.  Was  all  this  hate  and  pride  and 
avarice?  Bah!  The  little  fidgety  preacher  was  surely 
crazy ;  the  thing  called  war  was  too  big  and  terrible  and 
soul-searching  for  that.  Such  theories  were  too  small. 
They  could  not  account  for  the  signs  of  the  times. 

The  preacher  was  talking  again.  He  caught  the 
quiver  of  hate  in  his  utterance  of  the  name  of  the  great 
German  philosopher. 

43 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"In  Nietzsche's  words  we  have  the  supreme  utterance 
of  the  modern  anti-Christ  in  his  blasphemous  rendition 
of  the  Beatitudes.  Hear  him : 

"'Ye  have  heard  how  in  olden  times  it  was  said, 
Blessed  are  the  meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth; 
but  I  say  to  you,  Blessed  are  the  valiant,  for  they 
shall  make  the  earth  their  throne — " 

"Militarism,  my  friends,  is  the  incarnate  soul  of 
blasphemy !  It  is  confined  to  no  country.  It  is  a  world 
curse.  The  mightiest  task  of  the  times  in  which  we 
live  is  to  cast  out  this  devil  from  the  body  of  civiliza- 
tion. We  demand  votes  for  women  because  we  believe 
they  will  help  us  in  the  grim  battle  we  are  fighting  with 
the  powers  of  Death  and  Hell — " 

Vassar  turned  with  a  sigh  and  pressed  toward  the 
next  platform.  The  Honorable  Plato  Barker,  silver- 
tongued  orator  of  the  plains,  was  soaring  above  the 
heads  of  his  enraptured  listeners.  His  benevolent  bald 
head  glistened  in  the  sputtering  rays  of  the  arc  light. 
He  was  supremely  happy  once  more.  He  had  resigned 
the  cares  of  office  to  ride  a  new  hobby  and  bask  in  the 
smiles  of  cheering  thousands.  He  had  ridden  Free 
Silver  to  death  and  grown  tired  of  Prohibition.  He 
had  groomed  a  new  steed.  His  latest  hobby  was  Peace. 
He  too  was  demanding  votes  for  women  because  they 
would  save  the  world  from  the  curse  of  war. 
44 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  listened  to  the  man  whom  he  had  once  cheered 
and  followed  with  growing  wonder  and  weariness.  With 
pompous  pose  and  high-sounding  phrase  he  inveighed 
against  arms  and  armament.  In  the  next  breath  he 
denounced  his  old  opponent  for  the  attempt  to  abolish 
armaments  by  an  international  organization  to  enforce 
peace  through  a  central  police  power.  He  demanded 
that  America  should  stand  alone  in  her  purity  and  her 
unselfish  glory.  He  believed  in  America  for  the  Amer- 
icans. But  he  would  not  fight  to  maintain  it — nor 
would  he  permit  an  entangling  alliance  with  any  nation 
which  might  make  safe  the  doctrine  without  a  fight. 
We  would  neither  fight  nor  permit  anyone  else  to  fight 
for  us.  He  demanded  that  we  should  not  arm  ourselves 
for  defense  and  in  the  next  breath  declared  that  he 
was  not  in  favor  at  present  of  dismantling  the  forts 
we  now  possessed  or  of  disbanding  the  army.  He  de- 
nounced all  arms  and  all  wars  and  yet  favored  being 
half  armed  and  half  ready  for  an  inadequate  defense. 
He  asked  that  we  stand  absolutely  alone  in  the  world 
and  half  armed  maintain  the  guardianship  of  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere  against  the  serried  millions  of  veteran 
soldiers  of  armed  Europe.  He  demanded  that  we  up- 
hold international  law  and  order  and  yet  ridiculed  any 
organization  for  that  purpose. 

Each  empty  platitude  the  crowd  cheered.    Each  pre- 
45 


THE  FALL  OF  -A  NATION 

posterous  demand  for  the  impossible  they  cheered  again 
with  redoubled  power. 

His  last  proposition  was  evidently  his  favorite.  He 
dropped  his  voice  to  low  persuasive  tones: 

"Even  suppose  the  unthinkable  thing  should  happen. 
Suppose  that  some  misguided  nation  in  an  hour  of 
madness  should  send  a  hundred  thousand  soldiers  across 
three  thousand  miles  of  sea  and  attempt  to  invade  this 
country — what  then?  This  country,  mark  you,  peopled 
by  a  nation  of  vastly  superior  numbers,  equal  intelli- 
gence, mechanical  genius  and  political  organization — " 

He  paused  and  thundered: 

"What  would  happen? 

"Those  hundred  thousand  invading  soldiers  would 
never  see  their  old  homes  again — " 

Tremendous  cheers  rent  the  air. 

"And  what's  more,  dear  friends,  they  would  never 
desire  to  see  their  homes  again.  We  would  march  out 
to  meet  them  with  smiles  and  flowers.  We  would 
bid  them  welcome  to  our  shores.  We  would  give 
to  them  the  freedom  of  our  city  and  greet  them  as 
brethren !" 

Again  the  cheers  leaped  from  the  throats  of  thou- 
sands. 

To  John  Vassar  with  the  bitter  memories  of  the  might 
of  kings  that  yet  shadowed  the  world  the  scene  was  sick- 
46 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ening  in  its  utter  fatuity.    He  mopped  the  perspiration 
from  his  forehead  and  hurried  on. 

He  passed  the  platform  on  which  Jane  Hale  stood 
repeating  in  monotonous  reiteration  the  plea  for  peace 
which  she  vainly  spoke  into  the  ears  of  Europe  on  her 
tour  during  the  war.  The  speakers'  stand  was  draped 
in  red  and  behind  Miss  Hale's  solid  figure  the  young 
statesman  recognized  the  familiar  faces  of  the  Socialist 
leaders  of  the  East  Side. 

How  vain  this  Socialist  symbol  of  tHe  common  red 
blood  that  pulses  from  every  human  breast !  How  piti- 
fully tragic  their  failure  in  the  hour  when  the  war 
summoned  the  world  to  the  national  colors.  The  red 
flag  faded  from  the  sky.  It  was  all  talk — all  wind — ; 
all  fustian — all  bombast — all  theory.  Men  don't  die  for 
academic  theories.  Men  die  for  what  they  believe.  And 
yet  these  American  Socialists  were  as  busj;  with  their 
parrot  talk  as  if  nothing  had  happened  in  the  world 
since  that  fatal  day  in  July,  1914,  wheii  old  things 
passed  away  and  all  things  became  new. 

Vassar  pressed  past  the  crowd  around  tEe  Socialist 
stand  and  saw  beyond  the  platform  from  which  the 
woman  leader  of  the  new  Anti-Enlistment  Eeague  was 
haranguing  the  mob.  She  too  was  a  suffragette  for 
peace  purposes — an  aggressive  fat  female  of  decisively 
militant  aspect.  Her  words  were  pacific  in  their  import. 
47 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Her  manner  and  spirit  spoke  battle  in  every  accent  and 
gesture.  She  was  determined  to  have  peace  if  she  had 
to  kill  every  man.  woman  and  child  opposed  to  it. 

She  waved  the  pledge  of  the  League  above  her  head 
and  recited  its  form  in  rasping,  challenging,  aggravating 
notes. 

"I,  being  over  eighteen  [eears  of  age,  hereby  pledge 
myself  against  enlistment  as  a  volunteer  for  any  mili- 
tary or  naval  service  in  an  international  war,  and 
against  giving  my  approval  to  such  enlistment  on  the 
part  of  others." 

She  paused  and  shouted: 

"The  Anti-Enlistment  League  does  not  stand  for 
puny  non-resistance!  [We  appeal  to  ths  militancy  of 
the  spirit — " 

John  Vassar  looked  at  his  watch. 

"We've  yet  time  to  hear  brother  Debs.  I  like  his 
kind.  You  always  know  where  to  find  him." 

"No-no — Uncy,"  Zonia  urged,  "we  must  hurry  to 
our  stand — " 

"Our  stand,  eh?" 

"Yes — you  mustn't  miss  a  word  Miss  Holland  says. 
She  doesn't  speak  long — but  every  word  counts — " 

"She  has  one  loyal  follower  anyhow,"  Vassar  smiled. 

"I'm  going  to  win  her  for  you,  Uncy  dear — " 

"Oh,  that's  the  scheme?" 
48 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Yes—" 

"I  don't  think  it  can  be  done,  little  sweetheart.  I 
never  could  like  a  hen  that  crows — " 

Zonia  waved  her  arm  toward  the  big  platform  of 
the  Woman's  Federated  Clubs. 

"There  they  are  now!"  she  cried — "Marya  and 
Grandpa — they're  sitting  on  the  steps — " 

"So  I  see—"  Vassar  laughed. 

Old  Andrew  Vassar  was  beaming  his  good-natured 
approval  on  the  throng  that  surged  about  the  stand, 
his  arm  encircling  his  little  granddaughter  with  lov- 
ing touch. 

The  younger  man  watched  him  a  moment  with  a 
tender  smile.  His  father  was  supremely  happy  in  the 
great  crowd  of  strong,  healthy,  free  men  and  women. 
He  knew  nothing  of  the  meaning  of  the  meeting.  He 
never  bothered  his  head  about  it.  The  thing  was  a 
part  of  the  life  of  America  and  it  was  good.  He  was 
seventy  years  old  now — lame  from  an  old  wound  re- 
ceived in  Poland — but  had  a  fine  strong  face  beaming 
generous  thoughts  to  all  men.  He  had  landed  on  our 
shores  thirty  years  ago  broken,  bruised  and  ruined.  He 
had  dared  to  lift  his  voice  in  Poland  for  one  of  the  sim- 
plest rights  of  his  people.  A  brutal  soldier  at  the  order 
of  their  imperial  master  had  sacked  his  home,  murdered 
his  wife  and  daughter  before  his  ^jeyes,_  robbed 
49 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

him  of  all  and  at  last  left  him  in  the  street,  bleed- 
ing to  death  with  a  baby  boy  of  five  clinging  to  his 
body.  His  older  son  had  smuggled  him  aboard  a 
ship  bound  for  New  York.  He  had  prospered  from 
the  day  of  his  landing.  A  tailor  by  trade  he  had 
proven  his  worth  from  the  first.  For  ten  years  he 
had  been  head  cutter  for  a  wholesale  clothing  house 
and  received  an  annual  salary  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Ten  years  ago  the  might  of  kings  had  gripped  the  son 
he  left  behind.  His  goods  too  were  forfeited,  his  life 
snuffed  out  and  his  children  orphaned.  Big  free 
America  had  received  them  now,  and  the  old  man's 
strong  arm  circled  them.  The  little  terror-stricken 
boy,  who  had  clung  to  him  the  day  the  soldiers  left 
him  in  the  street  for  dead,  was  the  Honorable  John 
Vassar,  the  coming  man  of  a  mighty  nation  of  free- 
men. 

Old  Andrew  Vassar  made  no  effort  to  grasp  the  cur- 
rent of  our  social  or  political  life.  It  was  all  good. 
He  went  to  all  the  political  meetings,  Democratic,  Re- 
publican, Socialist,  Woman's  Suffrage.  He  liked  to 
test  his  freedom  and  laugh  to  find  it  true. 

He  caught  John's  eye,  waved  his  arm  enthusias- 
tically and  lifted  Marya  high  above  the  heads  of  the 
crowd  that  she  might  throw  him  a  kiss. 

Zonia  answered  with  a  little  cry  of  love  and  they 
50 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

quickly  pressed  through  the  throng  to  a  position  di- 
rectly in  front  of  the  speaker's  stand. 

Waldron  had  just  risen  to  make  his  opening  ad- 
dress. His  automobile  had  brought  him  quickly  from 
another  important  engagement  with  a  committee  of 
Western  bankers  who  had  met  in  the  stately  library 
of  his  palatial  home  on  the  heights  of  upper  Manhattan. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  poise  of  the  man,  his 
dignity  and  conscious  reserve  power.  Vassar  studied 
him  for  the  first  time  at  close  range  with  increasing 
dislike  and  suspicion. 

He  faced  the  crowd  with  a  look  of  quiet  mastery. 
A  man  of  medium  height,  massive  bull  neck,  high 
forehead,  straight  intellectual  eyebrows  and  piercing 
steel  gray  eyes.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  born  leader  of  men. 

A  high  collar  covered  the  massive  neck  well  up  to 
the  ears,  concealing  the  lines  of  brutality  which  lay 
beneath;  and  a  pair  of  glasses  attached  to  a  black 
silk  cord  and  gracefully  adjusted,  gave  to  his  strong 
features  a  touch  of  intellectuality  on  which  his  vanity 
evidently  fed. 

A  curious  little  smile  played  about  the  corners  of 

his  eyes  and  thin  lips  as  if  he  knew  a  good  joke  that 

couldn't  be  told  to  a  crowd.     The  smile  brought  a 

frown    to    John    Vassar's     sensitive    face.       He    in- 

51 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

— . ___ 

stinctively  hated  a  man  with  that  kind  of  smile.  He 
couldn't  tell  why.  The  smile  was  not  a  pose.  There 
was  something  genuine  behind  it.  A  crowd  would  like 
him  for  it.  But  the  man  who  looked  beneath  the 
surface  for  its  real  meaning  felt  intuitively  that  it 
sprang  from  a  deep,  genuine  and  boundless  contempt 
for  humanity. 

The  sound  of  his  voice  confirmed  this  impression. 
He  spoke  with  a  cold,  measured  deliberation  that  pro- 
voked and  held  an  audience.  His  words  were  clean 
cut  and  fell  with  metallic  precision  like  the  click  of 
a  telegraph  key. 

"I  have  the  honor,  tonight,  ladies  and  gentlemen," 
he  began  slowly,  "of  introducing  to  you  the  real  leader 
of  the  women  of  America — " 

A  cheer  swept  the  crowd  and  Zonia  stood  on  tiptoe 
trying  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her  heroine. 

"She's  hiding  behind  the  others — "  she  pressed  her 
uncle's  arm — "but  you'll  see  her  in  a  minute,  Uncy!" 

"Doubtless!"  Vassar  laughed.  "She's  too  wise  an 
actress  to  stumble  on  the  stage  before  her  cue — " 

Waldron's  metallic  voice  was  clicking  on. 

"Before  I  present  her,  allow  me  as  a  spokesman 
of  this  great  meeting  to  give  you  in  a  few  words  my 
reasons  for  demanding  votes  for  women.  The  su- 
preme purpose  of  my  life  is  to  do  my  part  in  ushering 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

into  the  world  the  reign  of  universal  peace.  The 
greatest  issue  ever  presented  to  the  American  people 
is  now  demanding  an  answer.  Shall  this  nation  fol- 
low the  lead  of  blood-soaked  Europe  and  arm  to  the 
teeth?  Or  shall  we  remain  the  one  people  of  this  earth 
who  stand  for  peace  and  good  will  to  all? 

"The  militarists  tell  us  that  man  is  a  fighting 
animal;  that  human  nature  cannot  be  changed;  that 
nations  have  always  fought  and  will  continue  to  fight 
to  the  end  of  time;  that  war  sooner  or  later  will  come 
and  that  we  must  prepare  for  it. 

"I  say  give  woman  the  ballot  and  she  will  find  a 
way  to  prevent  war! 

"The  alarmist  tells  us  that  armaments  are  our 
only  sure  guarantee  of  peace.  It's  a  lie.  And  that 
lie  is  now  being  shot  to  pieces  in  Europe  before 
our  eyes.  Armaments  provoke  war.  In  the  fierce 
light  of  this  hell-lit  conflagration  even  the  blind 
should  see  that  armaments  have  never  yet  guaranteed 
peace. 

"Europe  in  torment  calls  to  us  today.  O,  great 
Republic  of  the  West,  beware!  Armaments  are  not 
guarantees  of  peace.  They  are  not  insurance.  Make 
your  new  world  different  from  the  old.  Beware  of 
guns.  Down  with  the  machinery  of  slaughter.  Trust 
in  reason.  Have  faith  in  your  fellow  men.  Build 
53 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

your  life  on  love  not  hate.  Proclaim  the  coming  of 
the  Lord — the  Prince  of  Peace — " 

Vassar  glanced  quickly  over  the  sea  of  uplifted  faces 
and  wondered  why  they  did  not  applaud.  Barker's 
crowd  had  gone  wild  over  weak  platitudes  poorly  ex- 
pressing similar  ideas.  The  words  of  this  man  were 
eloquent.  The  silence  was  uncanny.  Why  didn't  they 
applaud?  t 

He  turned  his  head  aside  and  listened  intentljr.  It 
was  the  metallic  click  of  Waldron's  cold  penetrating 
voice  that  killed  applause.  There  was  something  in 
it  that  froze  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  an  enthusiast — 
and  yet  held  every  listener  in  a  spell. 

"Your  alarmists,"  he  went  on  deliberately,  "are 
busy  now  with  a  new  scare.  When  this  war  is  over 
they  tell  us  we  must  fight  the  victors,  for  they  will 
move  to  conquer  us.  Let  us  nail  another  lie.  This  war 
will  leave  Europe  exhausted  and  helpless  for  a  genera- 
tion. We  will  be  the  strongest  nation  in  the  world — our 
strength  intact,  our  resources  boundless. 

"Besides,  we  have  the  men  and  the  means  for  arming 
them  instantly  if  we  are  threatened.  We  have  equipped 
and  supplied  armies  of  millions  for  England,  France 
and  Russia.  What  we  have  done  for  them  we  can 
surely  do  for  ourselves.  Our  factories  are  now  pro- 
ducing more  military  supplies  for  Europe  than  we 
54 


THE  FALL  Oft  A  NATION 

could  use  for  our  defense.  Our  navj  is  more  efficient 
than  ever  before  in  history.  Our  chief  ports  are  de- 
fended by  great  guns  that  make  them  impregnable, 
Our  army  is  small,  but  I  repeat  the  Honorable  Plato 
Barker's  axiom  as  a  truth  unassailable — 'We  can  raise 
an  army  of  a  mjillion  men  between  the  suns !'  yes  and 
five  million  more  within  a  week  if  they  are  needed — " 
John  Vassar  ground  his  teeth  and  set  his  firm  jaw  to 
prevent  an  outburst  of  mad  protest.  As  chairman  of 
the  House  Committee  of  Military  Affairs  he  knew  that 
every  statement  in  this  subtle  demagogue's  appeal 
was  but  half  truth,  and  for  that  reason  the  most 
dangerous  lie.  The  navy  teas  more  efficient  than 
ever  before — so  was  every^  navy  in  the  world.  Our 
navy  was  still  utterly  inadequate  to  defend  us  against 
any  first-class  combination  of  Europe  or  any  single 
power  of  the  rank  of  Germany.  Our  coast  guns  were 
good,  but  a  hostile  navy  triumphant  at  sea  would  never 
come  in  range  of  them.  They  would  land  at  their 
leisure  at  any  one  of  a  hundred  undefended  harbors 
and  take  our  forts  from  the  rear.  We  could  manufac- 
ture ammunition — but  to  no  purpose,  because  we  have 
few  guns  for  field  artillery  and  not  enough  trained 
artillerymen  to  man  them  if  we  had  the  guns.  It  takes 
years  to  train  the  masters  of  war  machinery.  A  mil- 
lion men  could  be  raised  between  the  suns,  But  they 
55 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

would  be  mowed  down  by  fields  of  hidden  artillery 
beyond  the  range  of  our  gunners  before  we  could  get 
in  sight. 

t  {There  was  no  escape  from  the  deep  conviction  that 
the  cold-blooded  thinker  who  was  smiling  into  the  face 
of  this  crowd  knew  these  facts  with  a  knowledge  even 
clearer  than  his  own. 

What  was  the  sinister  motive  back  of  that  frozen 
smile? 

Again  and  again  Vassar  asked  himself  the  question. 
He  was  still  puzzling  over  the  mystery  of  Waldron's 
motive  when  a  ringing  cheer  burst  from  the  crowd  and 
Zonia  pressed  his  arm. 

"There  she  is,  Uncy — there  she  is!" 

Waldron  was  leading  to  the  rail  a  blushing  girl. 

"No,  no — sweetheart — that's  someone  else — can't  be 
the  Amazon — " 

"Of  course,  you  silly — she's  not  an  Amazon — she's 
my  heroine.  Isn't  she  a  darling?  Now  honestly?" 

Vassar  was  too  dumfounded  to  make  reply. 

Waldron  was  introducing  her,  the  same  cold  smile 
on  his  thin  lips,  the  same  metallic  click  of  his  voice. 

"Permit  me,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  present  to  you 
tonight  a  new  force  in  the  world — a  real  leader  of 
modern  women,  our  Joan  of  Arc,  the  President  of  the 
Federated  Clubs,  Miss  Virginia  Holland!" 
56 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Again  the  crowd  Hurst  into  applause. 

The  little  head  bowed  with  the  slightest  inclination 
and  a  smiile  of  pure  sunlight  illumined  an  exquisite 
face.  The  Amazon  he  had  hated  stood  before  him  a 
gentle  creature  of  delicate  jet  strongly  molded  features, 
her  high  smoct.h  forehead  crowned  with  a  tangled  mass 
of  auburn  blonde  hair. 

Vassar  laughed  at  the  sheer  absurdity  of  it  all.  Such 
a  woman  couldn't  be  the  leader  of  the  brazen  mob 
of  clamoring  females  he  had  grown  to  hate.  It  was 
too  preposterous  for  words.  She  was  speaking  now. 
He  didn't  know  what  she  was  saying.  No  matter.  It 
was  her  personality  that  held  him  in  a  spell.  Her  voice 
was  the  most  startling  contrast  to  Waldron's — soft 
and  clear  as  the  round  notes  of  a  flute.  Its  volume  was 
not  great  and  yet  the  quality  was  penetrating.  It  found 
the  ear  of  the  farthest  listener  in  the  wide  circle  of  the 
crowd  and  at  the  same  time  the  depths  of  his  inmost 
being. 

There  was  no  resisting  her  personal  appeal. 

Before  she  had  spoken  two  sentences  Vassar  was 
ready  to  agree  to  any  proposition  she  might  make. 
She  seemed  so  sweet  and  sane  and  reasonable.  Her 
appeal  was  to  both  the  head  and  the  heart  of  her 
hearers. 

The  young  statesman  mopped  his  brow  in  a  vague 
57 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

panic.  If  this  was  the  leader  who  had  marked  him 
for  defeat  the  situation  was  serious.  If  she  and  her 
kind  should  make  a  personal  canvass  of  the  voters  of 
his  district,  he  would  have  to  rise  early  and  go  to 
bed  late  if  he  ever  expected  to  see  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  again. 

And  yet  it  was  not  the  fear  of  defeat  that  really 
disturbed  him.  It  was  the  confusion  into  which  her 
personality  had  thrown  all  his  preconceived  ideas. 
Great  God!  If  this  sort  of  woman  had  gotten  into 
the  movement  where  would  it  end?  How  could  she 
be  denied?  He  laughed  again  at  his  preconceived 
ideas  of  the  leader  of  Amazons  and  the  sweet  reason- 
ableness of  this  gentle,  brilliant,  exquisite  girl  on  whose 
words  the  crowd  hung  breathless. 

He  was  stunned.  It  was  impossible  for  the  moment 
to  adjust  his  thinking  to  the  situation.  He  was  miss- 
ing all  her  speech.  For  the  life  of  him  he  couldn't 
recall  a  sentence.  He  pulled  himself  up  with  a  frown 
and  listened. 

"I  am  not  sure,  dear  friends,  that  we  can  prevent 
war,"  she  was  saying,  **but  I  am  sure  that  we  will  try. 
And  I  am  absolutely  sure  that  the  clothing  of  women 
with  the  sovereign  power  of  the  ballot  will  introduce 
into  the  councils  that  decide  peace  or  war  a  new 
element  in  human  history.  Man  alone  has  failed  to 
58 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

keep  the  peace.  Surely  if  we  help  we  can  do  no 
worse.  I  have  an  abiding  faith  that  we  can  do 
better—" 

She  paused  and  a  look  of  enraptured  emotion 
illumined  her  face  as  she  slowly  continued: 

"If  a  city  were  besieged  and  soldiers  were  defending 
its  strong  places,  and  a  breach  had  been  made  in  the 
embattlements,  the  men  within  would  close  that  breach 
with  the  first  thing  at  hand.  They  would  not  spare 
even  the  priceless  marble  figure  on  which  an  artist  had 
spent  years  of  loving  toil — unless  the  defending  soldier 
were  the  artist  who  created  the  masterpiece !  He  could 
not  hurl  this  treasure  into  the  breach  to  be  crushed 
into  a  shapeless  mass.  He  would  find  another  way  or 
die  in  the  effort. 

"Man  is  woman's  masterpiece.  For  twenty-five  years 
she  broods  and  watches  and  works  with  loving  care  to 
fashion  this  immortal  being.  Give  to  her  the  decisive 
voice  in  war  and  she  will  find  a  better  way  to  fill  the 
breach.  She  will  not  hurl  her  masterpiece  into  this 
hell.  Man  has  failed  to  find  a  better  way.  May  not 
we  who  love  most  and  suffer  most  at  least  have  the 
chance  to  try?" 

The  sweet  penetrating  voice  died  softly  away  and  she 
had  taken  her  seat  before  the  crowd  realized  that  she 
had  stopped. 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION, 

A  moment's  dead  silence  and  then  cheer  after  cheer 
swept  the  throng. 

An  excited  man  lifted  high  his  hand  and  shouted: 

"We'll  give  you  the  chance.     Yes — yes!" 

Zonia's  grip  tightened  suddenly  on  John  Vassar's 
arm. 

"You'll  let  me  introduce  you,  Uncy?" 

Vassar  laughed  excitedly. 

"Will  I?     Be  quick,  girl— before  she  gets  away!" 


CHAPTER  VI 

AREN'T   you    glad    you    came?"    Zonia    asked 
eagerly. 

"Hurry!      Don't    let    her    get    away    with 
Waldron— "  -!^ 

The  girl  darted  from  his  side  and  pushed  rapidly  to 
the  platform.  The  crowd  had  encircled  Virginia  and  a 
hundred  people  were  trying  to  grasp  her  hand  at  the 
same  time.  There  was  no  help  for  it.  He  must  wait. 
At  least  he  was  glad  the  jam  made  it  equally  impossible 
for  Waldron  to  reach  her.  He  saw  him  wave  his  hand 
to  her  over  their  heads,  bow  and  leave  the  platform  for 
his  waiting  car. 

Vassar  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  his  presence.  That  frozen 
smile  poisoned  the  air.  He  could  breathe  deeply  now. 

It  was  fully  fifteen  minutes  before  he  caught  the  signal 
Zonia  waved  from  the  steps. 

His  niece  was  radiant  with  joy  as  she  proudly  intro- 
duced them. 

"Uncle  John,  this  is  my  heroine,  Miss  Holland,  and 
you've  got  to  shake  hands  and  be  good  friends  now — " 

"I  trust  we  shall!"  Vassar  cried  laughingly. 
61 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

yirginia  smiled  seriously. 

"It  depends  on  you,  Mr.  Congressman,"  she  re- 
sponded quietly.  "You  know  I've  tried  to  be  friendly 
for  some  time,  but  you  have  been  elusive.  I  had  to 
threaten  you  with  death  even  to  bring  about  an  intro- 
duction— " 

He  lifted  his  hand  in  protest. 

"Don't — please!  It's  unkind  now  that  I  know  you. 
I've  had  such  a  silly  idea  of  your  personality.  I  re- 
pent in  sackcloth  and  ashes — " 

"Really?" 

"Honestly,"  he  went  on  eagerly.  "You  know  I  had 
an  idea  that  all  suffragettes  were  ugly,  disappointed, 
soured  women  whose  lives  had  been  beggared  by  the 
faults  of  sinful  men — " 

"Or  Amazons — Uncy !"  Zonia  broke  in  with  a  laugh. 
"He  called  you  an  Amazon,  Miss  Holland!" 

Virginia  blushed  and  broke  into  a  musical  laugh. 

John  Vassar  shook  his  head  menacingly  at  his  niece. 

"That'll  do  for  you  now,  Miss !" 

"Did  you  call  me  an  Amazon?"  Virginia  asked  still 
smiling. 

"Before  I  saw  you,  yes — " 

"And  now?" 

"Now,  I've  a  new  grudge  against  Waldron  for  using 
first  an  expression  on  which  I  could  improve — " 
62 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"What's  that?"  she  asked,  puzzled. 

"He  called  you  'our  Joan  of  Arc' — " 

"And  you  could  improve  on  that?" 

"Yes — you're  Joan  of  Arc  without  the  cold  touch  of 
sainthood.  You're  warm  and  real  and  human  and  still 
the  leader—" 

She  lifted  a  pair  of  serious  eyes  quickly  to  his  and 
saw  that  he  was  in  dead  earnest.  There  was  no  fencing 
or  banter.  He  meant  it.  A  little  smile  of  triumph 
played  about  the  corners  of  her  mouth. 

She  held  his  gaze  in  silence  and  then  spoke 
slowly. 

"We're  going  to  be  friends?" 

"If  you'll  let  me—" 

Her  eyes  still  held  his  steadily. 

"There  are  conditions,  of  course — " 

"All  right." 

«*You  wish  to  know  them?" 

"At  once—" 

"My !  My !  You  can  come  to  the  point— can't  you  ?" 
She  laughed. 

"My  political  life  may  depend  on  it,  you  know?" 
he  replied  lightly. 

"Why  not  walk  home  with  me — " 

"With  pleasure!"  he  broke  in. 

"And  we'll  have  a  chat  in  the  library.  I'm  free  to 
63 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

confess,  Mr.  Congressman,  that  we  would  like  very  much 
to  come  to  an  understanding  with  you." 

"And  I'm  going  to  confess,  Miss  Holland,  that  I'm 
very  much  ashamed  of  myself  that  I  haven't  made  an 
effort  to  understand  you." 

"Well,  you  know  what  the  old  preacher  down  South 
always  shouted  in  the  revivals?" 

«No— what?" 

"As  long  as  the  lamp  holds  out  to  burn  the  vilest 
sinner  may  return !" 

"Good.  We'll  hope  that  my  repentance  is  not  too 
late—" 

"My  only  fear  is,  to  tell  you  the  truth — that  it's  a 
little  too  sudden—" 

"But  it's  genuine !"  he  cried.  "You'll  have  to  admit 
that!" 

He  looked  in  vain  for  his  father  and  Marya. 

"Zonia  may  go  with  us?"  he  asked. 

"Indeed  she  can!  Everybody  has  tried  his  hand  to 
draw  out  our  young  statesman  and  she  succeeds.  She's 
my  little  mascot!" 

Virginia  pressed  her  arm  around  the  girl  and  she 
blushed  with  pride. 

"Come ;  it's  only  a  short  walk  to  Stuyvesant  Square — 
we  spend  most  of  our  time  now  at  our  country  place  at 
Babylon,  but  we're  in  for  this  week's  rallies." 
64 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  looked  for  Zonia  and  discovered  her  in  deep 
converse  with  a  smiling  blond  youth  of  fourteen,  the 
sparkle  of  whose  eyes  made  no  secret  of  their  interest. 

"My  infant  brother  Billy — "  Virginia  explained. 

"Indeed!" 

"They're  old  friends." 

"Evidently!"  he  laughed. 

"Come,"  Virginia  said  in  quick  business-like  tones, 
"the  kids  will  follow.  I  want  you  to  meet  my  father 
and  mother  before  they're  off  to  ted.  In  spite  of 
modern  progress  they  are  the  most  pig-headed  and 
persistent  pair  of  fossils  with  whom  I  have  to  con- 
tend—" 

"I've  often  seen  your  father  at  the  soldiers'  reunions 
— the  youngest  and  finest  looking  man  of  the  Old  Guard, 
I've  always  thought." 

"He  is— isn't  he?"  she  said  thoughtfully. 

"I  wonder  that  the  daughter  of  a  soldier  should 
take  seriously  all  this  talk  about  universal  peace — " 

"Perhaps  that's  the  reason—" 

"Nonsense !" 

"Seriously.  I've  listened  by  the  hour  to  his  stories 
of  the  war.  When  I  was  very  young  I  saw  only  the 
glamour  and  the  romance  and  the  glory  and  then  as 
I  grew  older  I  began  to  think  of  the  blackened  chim- 
neys of  Southern  homes  and  feel  the  misery  and  the 
65 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

desolation  of  it  all.  And  we  began  to  quarrel  about 
war." 

"Your  father  was  in  Sherman's  army,  I  believe?" 

"Yes — he  ran  away  from  his  Western  home  at  four- 
teen and  joined  the  colors.  Think  of  it!  At  eighteen 
he  was  mustered  out  in  Washington  a  veteran  of 
twenty-six  pitched  battles.  He's  only  sixty-odd  today 
with  every  power  alert  except  a  slight  deafness — and 
by  the  way — "  she  paused  and  smiled — "I  should  tell 
you  that  his  hobby  just  now  is  the  immigration  ques- 
tion. Don't  mind  anything  silly  he  may  say,  will  you?" 

"Certainly  not !"  Vassar  agreed.  "I  too  am  fighting 
against  the  invasion  of  this  country  by  a  foreign 
army — " 

"Yours  a  dream — my  father's  grievance  quite  real 
you  must  admit." 

"Seeing  that  a  Pole  is  his  Congressman  neighbor — " 
Vassar  admitted  good-humoredly.  "It  must  get  on  the 
nerves  of  the  old  boys  who  can't  see  our  point  of  view. 
The  man  or  woman  born  in  free  America  inherits 
it  all  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  rarely  thinks 
of  his  priceless  birthright.  To  my  old  father  every 
day  of  life  is  a  Fourth  of  July !  To  me  it  is  the  same. 
A  frail  half-starved  little  orphan  clinging  to  his  hand 
thirty-one  years  ago,  I  stood  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer 
and  saw  this  wonderful  Promised  Land.  You  are 
66 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

American  by  the  accident  of  birth.  You  had  no  choice. 
We  are  American  because  we  willed  to  come.  We  love 
this  land  because  it's  worth  loving.  We  know  why  we 
love  it.  We  lifted  up  our  eyes  from  a  far  country — 
amid  tears  and  ashes  and  ruins — and  saw  the  light  of 
liberty  shining  here  across  the  seas.  We  came  and  you 
received  us  with  open  arms.  You  set  no  hired  spies 
to  watch  us.  You  made  our  homes  and  our  firesides 
holy  ground.  We  kiss  the  soil  beneath  our  feet.  It 
is  our  country — our  flag,  our  nation,  our  people  as  it 
can't  be  yours  who  do  not  realize  its  full  meaning — 
can't  you  see?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered  softly.  "And  I  never  thought 
of  it  in  that  way  before." 

She  glanced  at  the  tall,  straight,  intense  figure  with 
new  interest.  They  walked  in  silence  for  a  block 
and  he  touched  her  arm  with  a  movement  of  in- 
stinctive chivalrous  protection  as  they  crossed  Second 
Avenue. 

She  broke  into  a  laugh  in  spite  of  an  effort  at  self- 
control  when  they  had  reached  the  sidewalk. 

He  blushed  and  looked  puzzled. 

"Why  do  you  laugh?"  he  asked  in  hurt  surprise. 

"Oh,  nothing—" 

<fYou  couldn't  have  laughed  at  the  little  confession 
I  just  made  to  you — " 

67 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

She  laid  her  hand  on  his  arm  in  gentle  quick  pro- 
test. 

"You  know  I  could  not.  It  was  too  sincere.  It 
was  from  the  depths  of  your  inmost  heart. .  And  I  see 
you  and  all  your  people  who  have  come  to  our  shores 
in  the  past  generation  through  new  eyes  after  this 
revelation  you  have  given  me — no,  I  was  laughing  at 
something  miles  removed — " 

Again  she  paused  and  laughed. 

"Tell  me"— he  pleaded. 

"Come  in  first — we  can't  stand  here  on  the  side- 
walk like  two  spooning  children — this  is  our  house — " 


CHAPTER  VII 

WITH  light  step  Virginia  mounted  the  low  stone 
stoop,  fumbled  for  her  keys,  unlocked  the 
massive  door  and  ushered  John  Vassar  into 
the  dimly  lighted  hall. 

"Come  right  into  the  sitting-room  in  the  rear  and 
meet  my  father  and  mother,"  she  cried,  placing  her 
little  turban  hat  on  the  rack  beside  his,  man-fashion. 

Vassar  smiled  at  the  assumption  of  equal  rights  the 
act  implied.  She  caught  the  smile  and  answered  with 
a  toss  of  her  pretty  head  as  he  followed  her  through 
the  hall. 

The  older  folks  were  bending  over  a  table  deeply 
absorbed  in  a  game  of  checkers.  The  picture  caught 
Vassar's  fancy  and  held  him  in  the  doorway,  a  pleasant 
smile  lighting  his  dark  strong  face. 

"Mother,"  Virginia  began  softly,  "it's  time  for  chil- 
dren to  quit  their  games*  I  want  you  to  meet  Mr.  John 
Vassar  whom  I'm  trying  to  dragoon  into  our  cause — " 

The  prim  aristocratic  little  woman  rose  with  dignity 
and  extended  her  hand  in  a  gesture  that  spoke  the  in- 
inheritance  of  gentle  breeding.  She  was  a  native  of 
69 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Columbia,  South  Carolina.  Her  stock  joke  of  self-pity 
was  the  fact  that  she  had  married  a  Sherman  Bummer 
who  had  helped  to  burn  her  native  city.  She  excused 
him  always  with  the  apology  that  he  was  so  young  he 
was  really  not  responsible  for  the  bad  company  in 
which  she  found  him.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  driven 
a  gang  of  drunken  marauders  from  their  house  and  de- 
fended them  single  handed  through  a  night  of  terror 
until  order  had  been  restored.  It  was  ten  years  later 
before  he  succeeded  in  persuading  the  fair  young  rebel 
to  surrender. 

"Delighted  to  meet  you,  I'm  sure,"  Mrs.  Holland 
said  quietly.  "You  must  be  a  Southerner,  with  that 
tall  dark  look  of  distinction — " 

Vassar  bowed  low  over  her  hand. 

"I  wish  I  were,  madam — if  the  fact  would  win  your 
approval — " 

"To  look  like  a  Southerner  is  enough  to  win  Mother 
on  sight,"  Virginia  laughed. 

The  father  extended  his  hand  in  a  cordial  greeting 
without  rising. 

"Excuse  me,  young  man,  for  not  getting  up,"  he  said. 
"I'm  lame  with  the  gout.  You're  a  suffragette?" 

Vassar  looked  at  Virginia,  smiled  and  promptly  an- 
swered. 

"I'll  have  to  confess  that  I'm  not—" 
70 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Holland  extended  his  hand  again. 

"Shake  once  more!  Thank  God  for  the  sight  of  a 
sane  man  again.  I  thought  they'd  all  died.  We  never 
see  them  here  any  more — " 

Virginia  lifted  her  finger  and  her  father  took  the 
outstretched  arm  and  drew  it  around  his  neck. 

"I  have  to  put  up  with  the  nincompoops  for  Virginia's 
sake.  But  I'm  going  to  explode  some  day  and  say 
things.  I  can  feel  it  coming  on  me — " 

He  stopped  abruptly  and  leaned  forward,  releasing 
Virginia's  arm. 

"Young  man,  I  can  talk  to  you — you're  not  a  suf- 
fragette— you're  a  real  man.  Between  the  women,  the 
Jews  and  the  foreigners  this  country  is  not  only  going 
to  the  dogs — it's  gone — hell  bent  and  hell  bound.  It's 
no  use  talking  any  more.  I've  given  up  and  gone  to 
playing  checkers — " 

"We  may  save  it  yet,  sir,"  Vassar  interrupted  cheer- 
fully. 

"Save  it?  Great  Scott,  man,  have  you  been  down 
Broadway  lately?  Look  at  the  signs — Katzmeyers, 
Einsteins,  Epsteins,  Abrahams,  Isaacs  and  Jacobs !  It 
would  rest  your  eyes  to  find  a  Fogarty  or  a  Casey. 
By  the  eternal,  an  Irishman  now  seems  like  a  Son  of 
the  American  Revolution !  The  Congressman  from  this 
district,  sir,  is  a  damned  Pole  from  Posen !" 
71 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Virginia  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter. 
"What's  the  matter,  Miss  Troublemaker?"  Holland 
growled. 

"You  didn't  get  the  name,  father  dear — this  is  Mr. 
John  Vassar,  the  damned  Pole  Congressman  to  whom 
you  have  so  graciously  referred — " 

Holland  frowned,  searched  his  daughter's  face  for  the 
joke,  and  looked  at  Vassar  helplessly. 

"It's  not  so !"  he  snorted.  "I  never  saw  a  finer  speci- 
men of  American  manhood  in  my  life,  strong-limbed, 
clean-cut,  clear-eyed,  every  inch  a  man  and  not  a  suf- 
fragette. It's  not  so.  You're  putting  up  a  job  on  me, 
Virginia—" 

John  Vassar  smiled  and  bowed. 

"For  the  high  compliment  you  pay  me,  Mr.  Hol- 
land, I  forgive  the  hard  words.  I  understand  how  the 
old  boys  feel  who  fought  to  make  this  country  what  it 
is  today.  And  I  love  you  for  it.  I  don't  mind  what  you 
say — I  know  where  to  find  your  kind  when  the  hour  of 
trial  comes — " 

"You  are  Congressman  Vassar?"  the  old  man  gasped. 
"Guilty!" 

The  mother  joined  in  the  laugh  at  his  expense. 
Holland    extended    his    hand    again    and    grasped 
Vassar's. 

"I  have  no  friends  in  this  house,  sir !   We  make  up. 
72 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

I  apologize  to  Poland  for  your  sake.  If  they've  got 
any  more  like  you,  let  'era  come  on.  But  mind  you — " 
he  lifted  his  finger  in  protest — "I  stand  by  every  word 
I  said  about  the  other  fellows — every  word!" 

"I  understand!"  Vassar  responded  cheerfully. 

"That  will  do  now,  Frank,"  Mrs.  Holland  softly 
murmured. 

"And  you  come  in  to  see  me  again,  young  man — 
I  want  to  talk  to  you  some  time  when  there  are  no 
women  around.  You're  in  Congress.  By  Geeminy,  I 
want  to  know  why  we've  got  no  army  while  twenty 
million  trained  soldiers  are  fighting  for  the  master^  of 
the  world  across  the  water.  Just  count  me  in  on  the 
fight,  will  you?  By  the  eternal,  I'd  like  to  meet  the 
traitor  who'll  try  to  block  your  bill — " 

"I've  important  business  with  Mr.  Vassar,"  Virginia 
broke  in.  "Excuse  us  now,  children — " 

"That's  the  way  a  suffragette  talks  to  her  old  daddy, 
Vassar — "  Holland  cried.  "I  warn  you  against  their 
wiles.  Don't  let  her  bamboozle  you.  I'm  lame,  but  I'm 
going  to  vote  against  'em,  if  I  have  to  crawl  to  the 
polls  election  day — so  help  me  God !" 

Mrs.  Holland  beamed  her  good  night  with  a  gentle 
inclination  of  her  silver-crowned  head. 

"He  barks  very  loudly,  Mr.  Vassar,"  she  called,  "but 
he  never  bites — " 

73 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Virginia  led  her  guest  upstairs  into  the  quiet  library 
in  the  front  of  the  house. 

Zonia  and  Billy  were  chattering  in  the  parlor. 

She  pointed  to  a  heavy  armchair  and  sat  down  op- 
posite, the  oak  table  between  them. 

"Now,    Mr.    Congressman,    what    is    it — peace    or 
war?" 

There  was  a  ring  of  subtle  defiance  in  her  tones  that 
both  angered  and  charmed  her  opponent.  He  had  met 
many  beautiful  women  before.  For  the  first  time  he  had 
met  one  who  commanded  both  his  intellect  and  his  con- 
sciousness of  sex.  The  sensation  was  painful.  He  re- 
sented it.  His  ideals  of  life  asked  of  women  submission, 
tenderness,  trust.  Here  sat  before  him  the  most  charm- 
ing, the  most  fascinatingly  feminine  woman  he  had  ever 
met  who  refused  to  accept  his  opinions  and  had  evi- 
dently determined  to  bend  his  mind  and  will  to  hers.  To 
think  of  yielding  was  the  height  of  absurdity.  And  yet 
he  must  meet  her  as  his  intellectual  equal.  He  could 
meet  her  on  no  other  ground.  Her  whole  being  said, 
"Come,  let's  reason  together."  He  had  no  desire  to 
reason.  He  only  wished  to  tell  her  the  truth  about  the 
impression  she  had  made  on  him.  He  smiled  to  recall 
it.  He  had  a  perfectly  foolish — an  almost  resistless — 
impulse  to  leap  on  the  speaker's  stand,  take  her  in  his 
arms,  kiss  her  and  whisper: 
74 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Dear  little  mate,  this  is  silly — come  away.  I've 
something  worth  while  to  tell  you — something  big, 
something  wonderful,  something  as  old  as  eternity  but 
always  new — " 

He  waked  from  his  reverie  with  a  start  to  find  his 
antagonist  holding  him  with  a  determined  gaze  that 
put  sentiment  to  flight. 

"Peace   or  war?"   she  firmly   repeated. 

"If  I  am  to  choose,"  he  fenced,  "I  assure  you  it 
will  be  peace—" 

He  paused  and  studied  her  expression  of  serious 
concentration.  In  spite  of  every  effort  to  fix  his  mind 
in  politics  he  persisted  in  the  silliest  old-fashioned  ad- 
miration of  her  wistful,  appealing  beauty.  Confound  it. 
She  had  no  right  to  use  such  a  power  for  the  propa- 
ganda of  crackbrained  theories !  He  felt  the  founda- 
tions of  the  moral  world  tremble  at  the  shock  of  this  re- 
sistless, elemental  force.  The  man  who  desires  a  woman 
will  sell  principle,  country,  right,  God,  for  his  desire. 
Was  he  going  to  be  trapped  by  this  ancient  snare? 
Such  a  woman  might  play  with  a  victim  as  a  cat  a 
mouse  until  her  purpose  was  accomplished.  Sex  at- 
traction is  the  one  force  that  defies  all  logic  and  scoffs  at 
reason.  The  government  of  a  democracy  was  a  dif- 
ficult task  under  present  conditions.  What  would  it 
become  when  the  decision  on  which  the  mightiest  issues 
75 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hung  could  be  decided  by  the  smile  of  a  woman's  lips 
or  the  dimple  in  her  cheek? 

He  felt  the  pull  of  this  fascination  with  a  sense  of 
inward  panic..  What  the  devil  was  she  laughing  at  a 
while  ago  as  they  crossed  the  street?  He  had  forgotten 
it  for  the  moment,  and  she  hadn't  explained.  He  would 
fence  a  little  for  time  before  meeting  the  issue.  He 
touched  the  tip  of  his  mustache  thoughtfully. 

"Anyhow,  suppose  we  shake  hands  before  we  begin 
the  fight.  It's  one  of  the  rules  of  the  game  you  know — " 

She  leaned  across  the  table  with  a  puzzled  expres- 
sion. 

"Shake  hands?" 

"Yes — spiritually,  so  to  speak.  I'd  like  to  get  on  as 
friendly  footing  as  possible  to  appeal  to  your  mercy  if 
I'm  defeated.  Would  you  mind  telling  me  at  what  you 
were  laughing  when  we  crossed  Second  Avenue?" 

An  exquisite  smile  illumined  her  face  and  a  twinkle 
of  mischief  played  about  the  corners  of  her  mouth. 

"Shall  I  be  perfectly  frank?"  she  asked. 

"Please— " 

"I  laughed  at  the  silly  contradiction  of  allowing  you 
to  touch  my  arm  in  token  of  your  superior  strength  as 
you  drew  about  me  the  sheltering  protection  of  chivalry. 
There  were  no  plunging  horses  near — not  even  a  push- 
cart in  sight.  The  nearest  street-car  was  five  blocks 
76 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

away.    Why  did  you  think  that  I  needed  help  in  walk- 
ing ten   yards?" 

He  held  her  gaze  steadily.  She  was  charming — 
there  was  no  doubt  about  it.  He  had  to  bite  his  lips 
to  keep  back  a  foolish  compliment  that  might  anger 
her.  How  should  he  bear  himself  toward  such  a 
woman?  Her  whole  being  breathed  tenderness  and 
femininity,  yet  there  was  a  dangerous  challenge  of  in- 
tellect about  her  that  upset  him. 

"Why  did  you  think  I  needed  help?"  she  softly  re- 
peated. 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,"  he  answered  gravely,  "I 
didn't  think  at  all.  The  act  was  instinctive — the  in- 
heritance of  centuries — " 

"Exactly!  Centuries  of  man's  patronage,  of  man's 
tyranny,  of  his  boasted  superiority.  As  long  as  woman 
submits  to  be  treated  as  a  doll,  a  weakling,  an  incom- 
petent, the  supposed  superior  being  must  try  to  do 
the  proper  thing  in  an  emergency — " 

"You  resented  it?"  he  broke  in. 

"No.  I,  too,  am  suffering  from  the  inheritance  of 
centuries — of  dependence  and  of  the  hypocrisy  inbred 
by  generations  of  chivalry.  It  was  at  my  own  sneaking 
joy  in  your  protection  that  I  laughed — " 

Vassar  moved  uneasily,  drew  his  straight  brows  low 
and  looked  at  her  through  their  veil  for  an  instant. 
77 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  was  making  a  desperate  effort  to  keep  his  brain 
clear.  It  would  be  ridiculous  to  surrender  to  such  a 
charming  little  siren  at  the  first  encounter. 

"Well,  sir,"  she  cried  briskly,  "now  that  we've 
shaken  hands  the  first  round  is  on.  Shall  I  lead?" 

Vassar  bowed. 

"By  all  means — ladies  first!" 

"Why  do  you  refuse  to  give  me  the  ballot?" 

"I  never  knew  until  tonight  that  women  like  you 
wished  it.  If  I  had— " 

"You  would  have  agreed?" 

"My  dear  Miss  Holland,  I  not  only  would  have 
agreed  but  I  would  ha-ve  gone  out  after  it  and  brought 
it  to  you.  And  all  against  my  better  judgment.  If 
women  are  allowed  to  vote,  there  must  be  a  law  against 
your  kind  entering  politics — " 

"Yes?" 

"Decidedly." 

"And  may  I  ask  why?"  she  demanded. 

He  smiled  and  hesitated. 

"If  you  ever  get  into  Congress — I  can  see  the  finish 
of  that  aggregation  as  a  deliberative  body.  You  would 
be  a  majority  from  the  moment  you  entered  the  Cham- 
ber—" 

"Please,  Mr.  Vassar — "  she  protested.  "We  have 
no  time  for  chaff — " 

78 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  rose  abruptly  from  the  depths  of  the  armchair, 
seized  a  light  one,  moved  it  nearer  to  the  corner  of  the 
table,  sat  down  and  bent  close  to  his  charming  opponent. 

"I'm  not  chaffing,"  he  began  eagerly.  "I'm  in 
earnest.  Your  personality  has  upset  all  my  precon- 
ceived ideas  of  the  leaders  of  this  woman's  movement. 
I  am  more  than  ever  alarmed  at  its  sinister  significance. 
You  take  my  judgment  by  storm  because  you're  charm- 
ing. You  stop  the  process  of  reasoning  by  merely  lift- 
ing your  eyes  to  mine.  Such  a  power  cannot  be  used 
to  further  the  ends  of  justice  or  perfect  the  organiza- 
tion of  society.  The  power  you  wield  defies  all  law — " 

Virginia  laughed  in  spite  of  an  effort  at  self-control. 

"Are  you  making  love  to  me,  Mr.  Vassar?"  she  cried. 

He  blushed  and  stammered. 

"Well— not— deliberately— " 

"Unconsciously  ?" 

He  mopped  the  perspiration  from  his  brow  in  con- 
fusion. 

"Perhaps." 

Virginia  rose,  and  her  lips  closed  firmly. 

"I  think  our  interview  had  better  end.  We  a^e  wast- 
ing each  other's  time — " 

"Please,  Miss  Holland,*'  he  begged  with  deep  humil- 
ity, "forgive  me.  I  was  never  more  sincere  in  my  life. 
I  should  have  been  more  careful.  But  there's  something 
79 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

about  your  frank  manner  that  disarmed  me.  You 
seemed  so  charmingly  friendly.  I  forget  that  we  are 
enemies — forgive  me — " 

"There's  nothing  to  forgive.  You  are  the  type  of 
man  who  cannot  understand  my  position — and  for  that 
reason  cannot  meet  me  as  an  intellectual  equal.  I  re- 
sent it — " 

"But  I'm  not  the  type  of  man  who  cannot  under- 
stand. I  will  meet  you  as  an  intellectual  equal.  I'll  do 
more.  I  concede  your  superiority.  You  have  baffled 
and  defeated  me  at  every  turn  tonight — I  go  puzzled 
and  humiliated.  I  refuse  to  accept  such  a  defeat.  You 
cannot  dismiss  me  in  this  absurd  fashion.  I'll  camp 
on  your  doorstep  until  we  have  this  thing  out." 

"You'll  not  call  without  an  appointment,  I  hope?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  will.  I'm  going  to  cultivate  your  father. 
I'll  accept  his  invitation.  I'll  make  your  house  my 
happy  home  until  we  at  least  come  to  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  our  differences — " 

"Tomorrow  then?"  she  said.  "I'm  tired  tonight. 
Tomorrow  at  eleven  o'clock — " 

Vassar  smiled  at  the  business-like  hour. 

"I've  an  important  engagement  at  eleven  that  will 
keep  me  an  hour.  It's  Flag  Day  at  my  schools — the 
kiddies  expect  me — " 

"Flag  Day?" 

80 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"A  little  device  of  mine  to  teach  our  boys  and  girls 
to  love  their  country — won't  you  join  us  tomorrow  at 
the  old  Tenth  Armory  and  inspect  my  forces?" 

Virginia  hestitated. 

"All  right,  I  will.  I'll  ask  Mr.  Waldron  to  pick  me 
up  there  at  noon." 

"I'll  expect  you  at  eleven." 

He  pressed  her  hand  with  a  new  sense  of  uneasiness, 
defeat  and  anger  which  Waldron's  name  had  aroused. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

JOHN  VASSAR'S  sleep  had  been  fitful  and  unsat- 
isfying.   Through  hours  of  half-conscious  brood- 
ing and  dreaming  he  had  seen  the  face  of  Vir- 
ginia Holland.     He  had  thus  far  found  no  time  for 
social  frivolities.  The  air  of  America  was  just  the  tonic 
needed  to  transform  the  tragic  inheritance  of  the  Old 
World  into  a  passion  for  work  that  had  practically 
ruled  women  out  of  the  scheme  of  things. 

He  had  dreamed  of  a  home  of  his  own  in  the  dim 
future — yes — when  the  work  of  his  career,  the  work  he 
had  planned  for  hia  country  should  have  been  done. 
This  had  been  his  life,  the  breath  he  breathed,  his  in- 
spiration and  religion — to  lead  an  American  renais- 
sance of  patriotism.  America  had  never  had  a  national 
spirit.  His  ambition  was  to  fire  the  soul  of  thoughtless 
millions  into  a  conscious  love  of  country  which  would 
insure  her  glorious  destiny. 

A  woman's  smile  had  upset  this  dream.  Through  the 
night  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  throw  off  the  obsession. 
At  daylight  he  had  fallen  into  a  sleep  of  sheer  exhaus- 
tion. It  was  nine  o'clock  before  he  was  roused  by  a 
gentle  knock  on  his  door. 

82 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Marya's  voice  was  calling  somewhere  out  of  space. 

"Uncle  John — breakfast  is  waiting — may  I  come  in?" 

"All  right — dearie — break  right  in !"  he  groaned. 

"And  I've  a  letter  for  you — a  special  letter — " 

The  sleeper  was  awake  now,  alert,  eager — 

"A  special  letter?" 

"A  big  black  man  brought  it  just  now.  He's  waiting 
in  the  hall — says  Miss  Holland  would  like  an  answer." 

Vassar  seized  the  letter  and  read  with  a  broad  grin. 
The  handwriting  was  absurdly  delicate.  The  idea  that 
a  suffragette  could  have  written  it  was  ridiculous! 

MY  DEAR  MR.  VASSAR: 

I'm  heartily  ashamed  of  myself  for  losing  my 
temper  last  night.  Please  call  for  me  at  ten 
o'clock.  I  wish  a  little  heart-to-heart  talk  before 
we  go  to  your  Flag  Festival.  Please  answer  by 
the  bearer. 

VIRGINIA  HOLLAND. 

Vassar  drew  Marya  into  his  arms  and  kissed  her 
rapturously. 

"You're  an  angel — you've  brought  me  a  message  from 
the  skies.  Run  now  and  tell  the  big  black  man — Miss 
Holland's  butler — to  thank  her  for  me  and  say  that  I'll 
be  there  promptly  at  ten.  Run,  darling !  Run !" 

The  child  refused  to  stir  without  another  kiss  which 
83 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

she  repeated  on  both  his  cheeks.  She  stopped  at  the 
door  and  waved  another. 

"Hurry,  Uncle  John — please — we're  all  starved/' 

"Down  in  five  minutes !"  he  cried. 

The  weariness  of  the  night's  fitful  sleep  was  gone. 
The  world  was  suddenly  filled  with  light  and  music. 

"What  the  devil's  come  over  me!"  he  muttered,  as- 
tonished at  the  persistent  grin  his  mirror  reflected.  "At 
this  rate  I  can  see  my  finish — I'll  be  the  secretary  of  the 
Suffragette  Campaign  Committee  before  the  week's 
over — bah !" 

Old  Peter,  the  black  butler,  ushered  him  into  the  par- 
lor with  a  stately  bow. 

"Miss  Virginia  be  right  down,  sah.  She  say  she 
des  finishin'  her  breakfus' — yassah !" 

Vassar  seated  himself  with  a  sense  of  triumph.  She 
must  have  written  that  note  in  bed.  He  flattered  him- 
self someone  else  had  not  slept  well.  He  hoped  not. 

Her  greeting  was  gracious,  but  strictly  business-like 
— he  thought  a  little  too  business-like  to  be  entirely 
convincing. 

She  motioned  him  to  resume  his  seat  and  drew  one 
for  herself  close  beside.     She  sat  down  in  a  quiet  de- 
termined manner  that  forbade  sentimental  reflections 
and  began  without  preliminaries. 
84 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"We  lost  track  of  our  subject  last  night,  Mr. 
Vassar,  in  an  absurd  personal  discussion.  I've  asked 
you  to  come  back  this  morning  to  make  a  determined 
effort  to  win  you  for  our  cause — " 

She  paused,  leaned  forward  and  smiled  persuasively. 

"We  need  you.  Your  influence  over  the  foreign-born 
population  in  New  York  would  be  enormous.  I  see  by 
this  morning's  paper  an  enthusiastic  account  of  your 
work  among  the  children.  You  are  leading  a  renais- 
sance of  American  patriotism.  Good!  So  am  I — a 
renaissance  of  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. 'We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident: 
that  all  men  are  created  equal!  that  they  are  endowed 
by  their  creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness. That  to  secure  those  rights,  governments  are 
instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed.'  Come  now,  I  appeal 
to  your  sense  of  justice.  What  right  have  you  to 
govern  me  without  nr£  consent?  Am  I  not  created  your 
equal?" 

Her  eloquence  was  all  but  resistless.  The  word  of 
surrender  was  on  his  lips,  when  the  voice  of  an  honest 
manhood  spoke  within. 

"You're  not  convinced.  The  magnetism  of  a  woman's 
jsex  is  calling.  You're  a  poltroon  to  surrender  your 
85 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

principles  to  such  a  force.  In  her  soul  a  true  woman 
would  despise  you  for  it." 

She  saw  his  hesitation  and  leaned  closer,  holding 
him  with  her  luminous  eyes. 

"Come  now,  in  your  heart  of  hearts  you  know  that 
I  am  your  equal?" 

Something  in  the  tones  of  her  voice  broke  the  spell — 
just  a  trace  of  the  platform  intonation  and  the  faintest 
suggestion  of  the  politician.  The  voice  within  again 
spoke.  There  was  another  reason  why  he  should  be 
true  to  his  sense  of  right.  He  owed  it  to  this  woman 
who  had  moved  him  so  profoundly.  He  must  be  true  to 
the  noblest  and  best  that  was  in  him. 

He  met  her  gaze  in  silence  for  a  moment  and  spoke 
with  quiet  emphasis. 

"If  I  followed  my  personal  inclinations,  Miss  Hol- 
land, I  would  agree  to  anything  you  ask.  You're  too 
downright,  too  honest  and  earnest  to  wish  or  value  such 
a  shallow  victory — am  I  not  right?" 

The  faintest  tinge  of  red  colored  Virginia's  cheeks. 

"Of  course,"  she  answered  slowly,  "I  wish  the  help 
of  the  best  that's  in  you  or  nothing — " 

"Good!     I  felt  that  instinctively.     I  could  fence  and 

hedge  and  trim  with  the  ordinary  politician.     With  all 

respect  to  your  pretensions,  you're  not  a  politician  at 

all.    You're  just  a  charming,  beautiful  woman  entering 

86 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

a  field  for  which  God  never  endowed  you  either  physi- 
cally, temperamentally  or  morally — " 

Virginia  frowned  and  lifted  her  head  with  a  little 
gesture  of  contempt. 

"I  must  be  honest.  I  must  play  the  game  squarely 
with  you!  I'm  sorely  tempted  to  cheat.  But  there's 
too  much  at  stake.  You  ask  if  you  are  not  my  equal? 
I  answer  promptly  and  honestly.  I  know  that  you  are 
more — you  are  my  superior.  For  this  reason  I  would 
save  you  from  the  ballot.  It  is  not  a  question  of  right, 
it  is  a  question  of  hard  and  difficult  duty.  The  ballot 
is  not  a  right?  or  a  privilege.  It  is  a  solemn  and  dan- 
gerous duty.  The  ballot  is  force — physical  force.  It 
is  a  modern  substitute  for  the  bayonet — a  device  which 
has  been  used  to  prevent  much  civil  strife.  And  yet 
man  never  votes  away  his  right  to  a  revolution.  The 
Declaration  of  Independence  embodies  this  fact — 
'Whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive 
of  those  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or 
abolish  it — '  There  you  have  the  principle  in  full.  Back 
of  every  ballot  is  a  bayonet  and  the  red  blood  of  the 
man  who  wields  it — " 

"But  we  will  substitute  reason  for  force!" 

"How,  dear  lady?  Government  is  force — never  was 
anything  else — never  can  be  until  man  is  redeemed  and 
this  world  is  peopled  by  angels.  Man  is  in  the  zoolog- 
37 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ical  period  of  his  development.  Scratch  the  most  cul- 
tured man  beneath  the  skin  and  you  find  the  savage. 
Scratch  the  proudest  nation  of  Europe  beneath  the 
skin  and  you  find  the  elemental  brute.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  forcing,  our  mothers,  our  sisters,  our  wives  and 
sweethearts  into  the  blood-soaked  mud  of  battle 
trenches.  That  work  is  the  dangerous  and  difficult  duty 
of  man.  So  the  ballot,  on  which  peace  or  war  depends, 
is  his  duty — not  his  right  or  privilege — " 

"Give  us  the  ballot  and  we  will  make  war  impossible," 
Virginia  broke  in. 

"How?  If  women  vote  with  their  men,  their  vot- 
ing will  mean  nothing.  We  merely  multiply  the  total 
by  two.  We  do  not  change  results.  If  women  vote 
against  the  men  on  an  issue  of  war  or  peace,  will  men 
submit  to  such  a  feminine  decision?  Certainly  not. 
Force  and  force  alone  can  decide  the  issue  of  force. 
Back  of  every  ballot  is  a  bayonet  or  there's  nothing 
back  of  it.  The  breath  of  revolution  will  drive  such 
meaningless  ballots  as  chaff  before  a  whirlwind — " 

"We'll  stop  your  blood-stained  revolutions !"  Virginia 
cried. 

"All  right.     Do  so  and  you  stop  the  progress  of 

humanity.    The  American  Revolution  was  blood-stained. 

It  gave  us  freedom.     The  Civil  War  was  blood-stained. 

It  freed  this  nation  of  the  curse  of  slavery  and  sealed 

88 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  Union  for  all  time.  There  are  good  wars  and  bad 
wars.  True  war  is  the  inevitable  conflict  between  two 
irreconcilable  moral  principles.  One  is  right — the 
other  wrong.  One  must  live — the  other  die.  Wrong 
may  triumph  for  a  day.  Right  must  win  in  the  end 
or  else  the  universe  is  ruled  by  the  Devil,  not  by  God. 
You  cannot  abolish  war  until  the  Devil  is  annihilated 
and  God  rules  in  the  souls  and  lives  of  men  and  in  their 
governments  as  well." 

For  the  moment  the  woman  was  swept  from  the 
moorings  of  her  pet  arguments.  She  quickly  recovered. 

"We  are  going  to  make  America  the  moral  and 
spiritual  leader  of  mankind !"  she  cried  with  elation. 

"Yes,  I  know.  In  the  Parliament  of  Man,  the  Federa- 
tion of  the  World — your  poet's  dream  as  far  removed 
from  the  beastly  realities  of  life  today  as  Heaven  is 
from  Hell—" 

"We  are  going  to  make  this  dream  a  living  fact  in 
the  world — and  free  America  shall  lead  the  way — " 

"And  how  will  you  begin?" 

"By  setting  the  proud  example  of  building  our 
national  life  on  spiritual  realities  first,  not  on  guns  and 
forts.  We  will  begin  the  disarmament  of  the  world — " 

"And  end  your  movement  by  surrender  to  the  armed 
bullies  of  Europe !" 

"At  least  my  dream  is  a  'dream,"  Virginia  laughed, 
89 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"yours  a  silly  nightmare.  But  I  give  you  up  for  the 
present.  I  see  that  Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols.  My 
mission  is  a  failure.  At  least  I  thank  tyou  for  your 
candor.  I  shall  have  to  turn  you  over  now  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  Mr.  Waldron  and  the  Executive  Committee. 
Come,  we'll  see  your  flags  and  the  children.  The  sight 
will  be  restful  after  our  battle." 

She  rose  quickly,  led  the  way  to  the  hall,  adjusted 
the  little  turban  on  the  mass  of  auburn  blond  hair  and 
opened  the  door. 

Vassar  passed  out  with  a  queer  sense  of  defeat.  He 
had  vanquished  her  in  the  argument.  But  the  trouble 
was  she  had  not  argued.  She  had  merely  demanded 
his  submission  without  argument. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ANOTHER  thing  that  had  upset  Vassar's  equa- 
namitj  was  the  baffling  quality  of  Virginia  Hol- 
land's character.     The  more  honestly  he  had 
tried  to  approach  her  in  friendly  compromise  the  more 
bristling  her  mental  resistance  had  become.     She  held 
him  at  arms'  length  personally. 

He  was  surprised  at  her  final  decision  to  go  to  the 
Armory.  No  doubt  only  an  uncompromising  honesty 
had  caused  her  to  fulfil  a  promise.  Clearly  she  was 
bored. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  she  was  anything  but  bored, 
She  was  lashing  herself  at  every  step  with  reproaches 
at  her  idiotic  inconsistency  in  accompanying  an  East 
Side  politician  on  a  fool's  errand.  No  doubt  the  whole 
thing  was  a  scheme  to  pose  before  enraptured  con- 
stituents. Why  had  she  consented  to  come?  She  asked 
herself  the  question  a  hundred  times  and  finally  ac- 
cepted the  weak  lie  that  she  was  studying  his  eccentric- 
ities to  make  his  defeat  the  more  sure. 

[With  each  moment  of  her  association  she  had  become 
more  and  more  clearly  conscious  of  his  charm.     Its 
91 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

strength  and  its  antagonism  were  equally  appealing.  It 
would  be  sweet  to  demonstrate  her  own  power  in  his 
defeat  at  the  polls  and  then  make  up  to  him  by  con- 
fessing her  admiration. 

She  began  to  receive  striking  evidence  of  his  popu- 
larity. At  every  street-corner  and  from  almost  every 
door  came  a  friendly  nod  or  wave  of  a  hand. 

Schultz,  the  fat  German  who  kept  a  delicatessen  store 
on  the  corner,  waved  to  him  from  the  doorway. 

"Mein  Frau  und  der  kids — all  dere,  gov'ner.  I  vish 
I  could  be !" 

On  the  next  block  Brodski  gripped  his  hand  and 
whispered  a  word  of  cheer. 

"They  all  seem  to  know  you  down  here,  Mr.  Con- 
gressman," Virginia  laughed. 

"Yes,  it's  my  only  hope — if  we  fight — " 

"You'll  need  help  if  we  do,"  she  answered  quietly. 

He  didn't  like  the  tone  of  menace  in  her  words. 
There  was  no  bluster  about  it.  There  was  a  ring  of 
earnestness  that  meant  business. 

"Perhaps  I'm  going  to  win  you  to  my  cause  before 
you  know  it,"  he  ventured.  "I'm  going  to  show  you 
something  today  that's  really  worth  while — " 

"Meaning,    of   course,"   she   interrupted,    "that    the 
cause  in  which  I  am  at  present  expending  my  thought 
and  energy  is  not  worth  while — " 
92 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I  didn't  say  that !"  he  protested.  "And  I  most  hum- 
bly apologize  jif  I  implied  as  much — " 

"All  the  same  you  think  it,  sir — " 

She  stopped  short  in  amazement  at  the  sight  of  her 
brother  Billy  standing  straight  and  fine  beside  Zonia 
at  the  door  of  the  old  Armory,  a  marshal's  sash  across 
his  shoulder,  arrayed  in  a  captain's  uniform  of  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  America. 

Zonia  grasped  her  outstretched  hand  in  loyal  greeting, 
her  eyes  sparkling  with  pride  at  her  uncle's  triumphant 
march  beside  her  heroine. 

Virginia's  gaze  fixed  Billy's  beaming  counte- 
nance. 

"Well,  Mr.  Sunny  Jim!"  she  exclaimed,  "will  you 
kindly  give  an  account  of  yourself.  How  long  have 
you  been  a  marshal  of  the  empire?" 

"Oh,  ever  so  long,  Virginia — Mr.  Vassar  didn't 
know  I  was  your  brother,  that's  all.  I'm  a  captain 
now.  I  didn't  let  you  know  'cause  I  thought  you  might 
raise  a  rumpus.  Father  and  mother  know.  They  don't 
care.  I  like  it." 

He  turned  abruptly  to  Vassar  and  saluted. 

"Everything  ready,  sir !" 

Virginia  shook  her  head  and  smiled  at  Zonia.  She 
too  wore  a  marshal's  sash. 

"I  want  you  to  meet  some  of  the  mothers,  Miss  Hol- 
93 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

land,"  she  whispered  eagerly.     "I  made  a  lot  of  them 
go  to  our  meetings." 

"With  pleasure,  dear."  She  smiled  at  Vassar. 
"We'll  take  occasion  to  mend  some  of  our  fences  in 
this  benighted  district  today!" 

The  young  Congressman  turned  his  guest  over  to 
his  niece  and  hurried  away  with  Billy  to  inspect  the 
assignment  of  kids  for  the  ceremonies  of  the  Flag. 

Virginia  was  surprised  to  find  the  hall  packed  with 
women  and  children,  more  than  a  thousand,  of  all  ages 
and  nationalities.  They  were  chattering  like  magpies 
— a  babel  of  foreign  tongues — German,  Italian,  Polish, 
Bohemian,  Russian,  Greek,  Yiddish. 

"I  must  introduce  you  first,"  Zonia  whispered,  "to 
my  favorite  mother,  an  Italian  with  the  cutest  little 
darling  boy  you  ever  saw.  She  heard  you  speak  in 
the  Square—" 

She  darted  into  the  crowd  and  led  forth  a  slender, 
dark-haired  young  Italian  mother  with  a  beautiful  boy 
of  five  clinging  to  her  skirts. 

"Miss  Holland,  this  is  my  good  friend  Angela  Benda 
and  Mr.  Tommaso !" 

Angela  bowed  and  blushed. 

"Ah,  Signorina,  I  hear  you  speak  so  fine — so  beauti- 
ful !    I  make  my  man  Tommaso  vote  for  you  or  breaka 
his  neck!     I  done  tell  him  so  too — " 
94 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"And  did  he  promise?" 

"Si,  si,  signorina — I  mak  him — " 

Virginia  stooped  and  gathered  the  child  in  her  arms. 
Shy  at  first,  he  put  his  hand  at  last  on  her  shining  hair, 
touched  it  gracefully,  and  looked  into  her  face  with 
grave  wide  eyes. 

Virginia  pressed  him  suddenly  to  her  heart  and  kissed 
him. 

"You  glorious  little  creature!"  she  cried.  The  act 
was  resistless.  In  all  her  career  she  had  never  before 
done  so  silly  and  undignified  a  thing  in  public.  She 
blushed  at  her  folly.  What  crazy  spell  could  she  be 
under  today?  She  asked  the  question  with  a  new  sense 
of  uneasy  annoyance  as  her  eyes  swept  the  room  in 
search  of  the  hero  of  the  occasion. 

Vassar  could  scarcely  walk  for  the  crowds  of  joyous 
women  and  children  who  pressed  about  him  and  tried 
to  express  their  love  and  pride  in  his  leadership. 

A  fight  suddenly  broke  out  between  the  Benda  and 
Schultz  kids  close  beside  Virginia. 

Zonia  tried  in  vain  to  separate  them.  Vassar  saved 
the  situation  by  picking  up  Angela's  boy  by  his  sus- 
penders, and  the  German  kid  by  the  seat  of  his  pants. 
He  lifted  them  bodily  out  of  the  scene  and  carried  them 
into  a  quiet  corner. 

Virginia  laughed  heartily. 
95 


!  THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  demanded  mutual  apologies. 

"He  called  me  'Sausage,'"  complained  the  Schultz 
kid. 

"He  calla  me  a  Dago,*'  answered  the  Italian. 

"Now  salute  each  other  with  a  handshake!"  Billy 
commanded.  "And  remember  that  you're  good 
Americans." 

"He  made  them  both  take  off  their  caps  and  yell : 

"Hurrah  for  Uncle  Sam!" 

Virginia  looked  about  the  old  hall  with  increasing 
amazement  at  the  effective  way  in  which  the  interior 
had  been  decorated.  Around  the  walls  in  graceful  fes- 
toons the  beautiful  red,  white  and  blue  emblems  hung 
an  endless  riot  of  color.  From  the  ceiling  they  fell  in 
soft,  billowing  waves  stirred  by  the  breezes  from  the 
open  windows.  The  eye  of  every  child  kindled  with 
delight  on  entering. 

The  exercises  began  with  a  song. 

A  band  of  six  pieces  led  them.  Everybody  rose 
and  sang  one  stanza.  John  Vassar  first  wrote  it  in  big 
plain  letters  on  the  blackboard  where  all  could  read: 

MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE, 
SWEET  LAND  OF  LIBERTY, 
OF  THEE,  I  SING! 


96 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

They  sang  it  with  a  fervor  that  stirred  Virginia's 
soul. 

Vassar  took  the  chair  as  presiding  officer  and  directed 
the  exercises,  Billy  acting  as  his  chief  lieutenant  to  Vir- 
ginia's continuous  amusement. 

"Now,  children,  give  me  the  cornerstone  of  the  Amer- 
ican nation — let's  get  that  in  place  first.  Now  every- 
body! All  together!" 

From  the  crowd  came  a  shout  that  stirred  the  Big 
flags  in  the  ceiling: 

"ALL  MEN  ARE  CREATED  EQUAL!" 

Again  he  wrote  it  on  the  blackboard  and  asked  them 
to  repeat  it. 

They  did  it  with  a  will. 

"Now,  children,"  he  said,  "I've  a  distinguished  artist 
here  today  who  gives  us  this  valuable  hour  of  his  useful 
life  to  draw  a  picture  on  the  board.  Watch  him  closely 
and  don't  forget  the  message. 

With  quick,  sure  stroke  the  cartoonist  drew  a  wonder- 
ful symbolic  Stairway  of  Life  for  the  American  child. 

On  the  left  of  the  scene  appeared  Uncle  Sam  holding 
the  lamp  of  knowledge  to  light  the  way  to  success  for 
the  crowd  of  eager  boys  and  girls  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hill.  In  sharp  outline  he  drew  the  steps  upon  whicK 
they  might  mount — each  step  a  book  they  could  master. 
The  first  step  was  marked — Primer,  the  next  First 
97 


THE  FALL,  OF  A  NATION 

Reader  and  then  came  Elementary  Arithmetic,  Second 
Reader,  Grammar,  Geography,  History,  Physiology, 
Rhetoric,  Algebra,  Physics,  Latin,  Greek,  Geometry, 
Political  Economy  and  Trigonometry.  The  last  step 
faded  out  in  the  blazing  light  of  the  Sun  of  Success 
at  the  top  of  the  hill.  He  drew  the  figures  of  little 
boys  and  girls  on  the  lower  rounds,  bigger  boys  and 
girls  on  the  middle  ones,  young  men  and  women  mount- 
ing the  hill  crest.  At  the  bottom  of  the  cartoon  he 
wrote : 

"Uncle  Sam  invites  all  his  children  of  every  race 
and  kindred  and  tongue  to  come  up  higher!" 

"Now,  once  more,  children,"  Vassar  cried,  "tell  me 
on  what  this  country's  greatness  rests?" 

Again  the  shout  came  as  from  a  single  throat: 

"All  men  are  created  equal!" 

"Good!     Now  give  me  the  passwords!" 

"Liberty!" 

"Equality !" 

"Fraternity !" 

The  three  shouts  came  as  three  salvos  from  a  battery 
of  artillery. 

On  another  blackboard  he  wrote  the  words  in  huge 
capitals  and  left  them  standing. 

"Now,  children,  I  want  you  to  think  for  just  one 
minute  every  day  of  your  life  what  it  means  to  be  a 
98 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

citizen  of  this  mighty  free  Democracy — where  men  are 
learning  to  govern  themselves  better  than  any  ting  has 
ever  done  it  for  them.  I  want  you  to  realize  that  the 
inspired  founders  of  this  nation  made  it  the  hope  and 
refuge  of  the  oppressed  of  all  the  world.  And  I  want 
you  to  love  it  with  all  your  heart — " 

He  lifted  his  hands  and  the  crowd  rose  singing  "The 
Star  Spangled  Banner."  They  sang  it  with  a  swing 
and  lilt  Virginia  had  never  heard  before.  For  the  first 
time  in  her  life  it  had  meaning.  Her  eyes  unconsciously 
filled  with  tears. 

At  a  wave  of  Vassar's  hand  the  crowd  sank  to  their 
seats. 

Vassar  stooped  over  the  platform  and  motioned  to 
Angela  to  hand  to  him  her  boy. 

The  mother  proudly  passed  the  child  to  the  leader. 
Vassar  lifted  the  smiling  youngster  in  his  arms  and  held 
him  high.  In  ringing  tones  he  cried: 

"Don't  forget,  my  friends,  that  the  humblest  boy 
here  today  may  become  the  president  of  the  United 
States !" 

A  ringing  cheer  swept  the  crowd. 

Vassar  passed  the  child  back  to  the  mother  and  con- 
tinued his  address.  The  rest  of  it  was  lost  on  Angela. 
A  new  light  suddenly  flashed  in  her  brown  eyes. 

She  sat  down,  flushed,  and  rose  again.  Tommaso 
99 


THE  FALL  OF  &  NATION 

tugged  at  her  dress  and  begged  her  to  sit  down.  Her 
soul  was  too  full.  The  act  of  the  speaker  was  a  divine 
omen.  She  must  know  if  he  really  meant  that  her 
little  Tommaso  might  be  the  president  of  a  great  free 
nation.  The  thought  was  too  big.  Her  heart  was 
bursting.  She  tried  timidly  to  attract  Vassar's  atten- 
tion. 

Tommaso,  alarmed,  drew  her  back  to  the  seat. 

Angela  looked  across  the  side  aisle  and  saw  Virginia 
in  the  front  row.  Bending  low  she  approached  and 
whispered : 

"My  own  bambino — he  may  be  president — yes?" 

Virginia  nodded  tearfully. 

Angela  darted  back  to  her  seat,  snatched  the  head 
cloth  from  her  rich  brown  hair  and  seized  one  of  her 
husband's  earrings.  The  fight  was  brief.  The  Italian 
struggled  to  save  his  ornaments  but  the  wife  won.  He 
also  lost  a  gay  sash  about  his  waist.  The  mother  pressed 
the  boy  to  her  heart  and  whispered  passionately  to  her 
man: 

"We  Americano  now — our  bambino  be  bigga  de  boss 
president !" 

Tommaso  succeeded  finally  in  quieting  her  before  Vas- 
sar  noticed  the  disturbance. 

"Now,  Captain,"  Vassar  called  to  Billy,  "give  us 
the  order  of  the  day  for  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America." 
100 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Billy  sprang  on  the  little  platform,  lifted  his  smiling 
face,  his  hands  tightly  gripped  behind  his  back  and 
spoke  in  firm,  boyish  tones: 

"My  only  regret  is  that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give 
for  my  country!" 

"And  what  do  you  say  to  that,  children?"  Vassar 
shouted. 

"Three  cheers  for  Uncle  Sam !"  they  answered.  Three 
times  three  they  gave  it  without  the  need  of  a  prompter. 

Vassar  waved  a  signal  to  the  right  and  from  the 
dressing-room  slowly  marched  a  procession  of  children 
of  all  nations,  dressed  in  their  native  costume,  each 
child  bearing  the  tiny  flag  of  their  old-world  allegiance. 
The  line  of  floating  color  circled  the  open  space  in 
front  of  the  platform,  and,  as  they  passed  Vassar  sur- 
rendered the  old  flag  and  received  from  his  hand  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  which  each  waved  in  answer  to  a 
cheer  from  the  crowd. 

When  the  last  nation  had  surrendered  allegiance  the 
procession  marched  again  around  the  circle  to  the  con- 
tinuous cheering  of  the  crowd  and  took  their  places 
about  Vassar  who  held  aloft  the  regimental  standard 
of  the  nation  with  its  golden  eagle  gleaming  from  the 
staff.  The  little  children  crowded  close  and  about  them 
gathered  a  ring  of  Boy  Scouts  and  beyond  them  the  ' 
mothers  of  the  kids. 

101 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

i  He  lifted  high  the  flag  and  every  Scout  and  grown 
up  and  every  child  saluted  it  with  uplifted  hands  and 
cheered. 

"Now,  boys  and  girls!"  Vassar  cried  to  the  outer 
circle. 

They  solemnly  responded  in  chorus: 

"I  pledge  allegiance  to  my  flag  and  to  the  Republic 
for  which  it  stands — one  nation,  indivisible,  with  liberty 
and  justice  for  all." 

"Now,  kiddies !"  he  shouted  to  the  little  ones. 

The  answer  came  in  straggling  unison: 

"I  give  my  hand  and  my  heart  to  God  and  my  coun- 
try. One  country,  one  language,  one  flag — " 

"And  now!"  the  leader  cried: 

"Hurrah  for  the  President  of  the  United  States !" 

With  a  shout  they  gave  the  cheers  and  the  ceremony 
ended  again  in  a  babel  of  joyous  polyglot  chatter. 

Vassar  found  Virginia  surrounded  by  a  mob  of 
mothers  struggling  to  shake  hands  under  the  guidance 
of  Angela. 

"I  must  say,"  he  laughed,  "that  your  methods  are 
quite  up  to  date." 

"I  assure  you  I'm  not  trying  to  take  advantage 
of  my  host  to  seduce  his  constituents.  I'm  only 
doing  my  best  to  make  Angela  happy  by  meeting  her 
friends — " 

102 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 


"Si,  signer — we  will  vote  for  the  signorina — and  you, 
too,  is  it  not  so?" 

"Apparently  they  need  no  seduction,"  Vassar 
laughed. 

Virginia  blushed  and  lifted  her  hands  in  protest. 

"Well,"  the  young  leader  asked  in  conciliatory  tones, 
"how  did  you  like  it?" 

"I've  been  charmed  beyond  measure,"  was  the  quick 
answer.  "I've  got  a  new  view  of  my  country.  I've 
a  new  view  of  the  possibilities  of  political  leadership. 
I'm  more  determined  than  ever  to  wield  a  ballot — " 

"You're  not  willing  to  trust  me  with  that  duty?" 

"No.  We  can  add  something  you  can  never  give 
to  these  people.  These  mothers  know  instinctively  that 
I  can  understand  them  as  you  could  not." 

"And  I  had  hoped,"  he  said  regretfully,  "that  I  might 
win  you  for  a  helper  in  this  work.  You're  determined 
to  be  my  rival — " 

"Not  unless  you  fight — " 

"Can't  you  see,"  he  persisted,  "that  what  America 
needs  today  is  not  the  multiplication  of  her  voting 
population  by  two — but  the  breathing  of  a  conscious 
national  soul  into  the  people  and  giving  that  soul  ex- 
pression. What  we  need  is  not  more  millions  of  voters 
but  a  deeper  sense  of  responsibility  developed  in  those 
who  already  vote.  We  must  show  the  world  that  de- 
103 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

mocracy  is  a  success,  that  democracy  means  the  best 
in  government,  the  best  in  commerce,  the  best  in  art 
and  literature.  I  grant  you  that  many  of  our  new 
foreign  voters  are  ignorant,  but,  dear  Miss  Holland, 
their  wives  and  mothers  are  far  more  ignorant.  Why 
add  to  this  sum  total  of  inefficiency?  New  York  is  in 
reality  a  foreign  city  set  down  here  in  the  heart  of 
America.  More  than  one-half  of  the  men  of  voting  age 
are  foreign-born.  Only  thirty-eight  per  cent  of  them 
are  naturalized.  More  than  half  a  million  of  these 
men  are  in  no  way  identified  with  our  political  life. 
Twenty  thousand  a  year  in  our  city  claim  their  right 
of  citizenship  and  become  voters.  We  have  before  us 
a  gigantic  task  to  teach  these  men  the  meaning  of  true 
Americanism.  This  work  has  not  been  done.  It  has 
been  left  to  chance.  We  must  break  up  these  foreign 
groups.  Eighty  per  cent  of  our  foreign  population 
live  in  groups  and  take  no  interest  in  any  problem 
which  does  not  directly  affect  their  group  life.  They 
neither  know  nor  are  known  by  American-born  citizens. 
Men  like  your  father  should  get  acquainted  with  these 
people.  They  are  yet  speaking  a  foreign  tongue,  living 
within  the  narrow  ideals  of  their  European  origin.  In 
time  of  supreme  trial  if  this  nation  should  call  on  them, 
what  could  one  expect?  What  have  we  a  right  to 
expect?" 

104 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Virginia  shook  her  head  in  hopeless  protest. 

"Always  your  nightmare  of  an  imaginary  impossible 
attack  by  a  foreign  foe !" 

"I  wish  it  were  imaginary,"  he  answered  thought- 
fully. "Do  you  think  for  a  moment  that  there  is  a 
foot  of  soil  in  the  old  world  of  Northern  and  Central 
Europe  on  which  I  could  stand  and  dare  to  write  the 
sentences  and  mottoes  on  that  blackboard?  Do  the 
rulers  of  Europe  believe  that  all  men  are  created  equal  ? 
Remember,  dear  lady,  that  Democracy  is  a  babe  not 
yet  out  of  swaddling  clothes.  The  might  of  kings  is 
as  old  as  the  recorded  history  of  man.  The  kingly  con- 
ception of  government  and  its  divine  right  to  govern 
is  inbred  into  the  human  race  through  thousands  of 
years  until  it  is  accepted  without  question.  The  idea 
becomes  as  fixed  and  automatic  as  the  beat  of  the  human 
heart. 

"The  American  Republic  is  but  a  little  over  a  hun- 
dred years  old.  We  reckon  in  years,  they  reckon  by 
centuries.  The  founding  of  this  nation  was  one  of 
the  happiest  accidents  in  the  history  of  the  world.  But 
it  was  an  accident.  The  kings  were  too  busy  fighting 
one  another  in  the  stirring  years  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution to  give  their  attention  to  you.  Your  fathers  won 
on  a  lucky  fluke.  And  thanks  to  the  barriers  of  two 
vast  oceans  you  grew  and  waxed  strong  with  incredible 
105 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

rapidity.  You  were  safe  as  long  as  these  oceans  pro- 
tected you  and  no  longer.  The  genius  of  man  has 
abolished  the  ocean  barrier.  There  is  no  more  sea. 
The  ocean  is  now  the  world's  highway  and  transport 
by  water  is  swifter  and  safer  than  by  land.  The  oceans 
no  longer  protect  you.  They  are  a  constant  menace 
to  your  existence — " 

"You  are  assuming  that  the  world  is  not  civilized — 
that  we  are  still  living  in  the  Dark  Ages,"  Virginia  in- 
terrupted. 

"I  am  assuming  only  the  facts  of  modern  life:  that 
force  still  rules  the  world;  that  government  is  force; 
that  there  are  two  forms  of  government  and  only  two, 
and  that  they  are  irreconcilable — government  by  the 
people  and  government  of  the  people  by  imperial  mas- 
ters. These  systems  can  no  more  mix  than  fire  and 
water.  The  world  must  yet  be  conquered  by  one  of 
them.  You  assume  that  we  have  settled  our  form  of 
government  for  all  time.  We  have — provided  we  are 
ready  to  demonstrate  to  the  imperial  rulers  that  we 
can  defend  it  against  all  comers — " 

Virginia  threw  up  her  hands  in  a  gesture  of  despair. 

"You're  hopeless !" 

"Can  you  not  see  this?"  he  pleaded. 

"I  refuse  to  see  it.  I  still  have  faith  in  God  ar.d  r.rj 
fellow  man." 

106 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  looked  at  her  flushed  exquisite  face  with  deep 
tenderness — lifted  his  eyes  and  saw  Zonia  and  Marya 
the  center  of  an  admiring  group  of  children. 

"You  like  my  little  Zonia?"  he  asked  in  apparently 
irrevelent  tones. 

"I  love  her—" 

"Her  father,  my  elder  brother,  lived  in  Poland's  hap- 
piest tomb — in  German  Poland — 

He  stopped  abruptly  and  gave  a  bitter  little  laugh. 

"His  home  took  fire  one  night  and  burned  to  the 
ground.  By  decree  of  his  Imperial  master  he  was  not 
permitted  to  build  a  dwelling  on  his  own  land.  He 
loved  this  land,  poor  fool.  His  wife  and  babies  loved 
it.  He  couldn't  be  dragged  away.  He  took  refuge 
in  a  barn.  Through  the  summer  they  managed  to  live 
without  a  fire  inside.  They  cooked  in  the  open.  But 
when  the  winter  came  and  the  snows  fell,  he  was  forced 
to  smuggle  a  little  stove  into  the  barn  to  boil  some  eggs 
and  cabbage  and  make  tea  for  his  children.  He  hid 
the  stove  in  a  deep  hole  under  the  floor.  Ten  days 
later  an  officer  of  the  Imperial  government,  passing, 
saw  the  smoke,  forced  his  way  in  and  uncovered  the 
secret.  The  stove  had  made  the  barn  a  dwelling  and 
he  had  forfeited  his  estate  and  his  liberty.  He  fought 
— as  any  man  with  a  soul  must  fight — for  his  own !  The 
end  was  sure.  He  shot  the  officer.  But  there  were 
107 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

legions  of  these  Imperial  soldiers.  They  assaulted  his 
frail  barricade  and  riddled  his  body  with  bullets.  His 
faithful  wife  died  with  him.  And  little  Zonia  and  Marya 
were  sent  to  me  in  free  America.  And  so  you  see  I 
lack  faith  in  some  men — " 

He  stopped  abruptly  at  the  sight  of  Waldron's  heavy 
face  with  its  arctic  smile. 

The  millionaire  lifted  his  hat,  bowed  slightly  and  dis- 
'  appeared  from  the  doorway. 

"Come  with  me  to  Mr.  Waldron's  house,  we  must 
have  a  final  conference  there — " 

"Waldron's  house?"  he  asked  incredulously. 
"Certainly.     His  library  has  become  our  campaign 
headquarters — " 

"You'll  have  to  excuse  me—" 

"But  I  won't  excuse  you.    (We're  going  to  fight  this 
thing  out  today." 

"I've  nothing  to  say  to  Waldron." 
"But  he  has  something  very  important  to  say  to 
you — " 

"All  right— he  knows  where  I  live—" 
Virginia  laid  her  hand  on  his  arm  in  a  gesture  of 
appeal  that  was  resistless. 
"Won't  you  come  with  me?" 

The  frown  slowly  faded,  and  he  smiled  an  answer. 
"With  you— yes." 


CHAPTER  X 

BILLY  volunteered  to  take  the  children  home, 
Vassar  waved  his  farewell  to  the  crowd  and 
hurried  to  the  waiting  automobile. 

Virginia  presented  him  to  the  banker. 

"Our  irreconcilable  foe,  Mr.  Waldron!" 

The  millionaire  merely  touched  his  hat  with  the  barest 
suggestion  of  a  military  salute  and  Vassar  bowed.  It 
was  not  until  they  were  seated  in  the  car  that  Waldron 
spoke — the  same  cold  smile  about  his  lips. 

"I've  wanted  to  meet  you  for  a  long  time,  Mr.  Vas- 
sar—" 

"I'm  surprised  to  hear  that,"  was  the  light  reply. 
"Our  views  could  hardly  be  the  same  on  any  subject 
within  my  scope  of  knowledge — " 

Waldron  smiled  patronizingly. 

"Anyhow,  let  us  hope  that  we'll  get  together  to- 
day—" 

"We  must,"  Virginia  responded. 

The  one  thing  Vassar  couldn't  endure  was  patronage. 
The  tone  Waldron  assumed  was  offensive  beyond  en- 
durance. If  he  tried  it  again  the  young  leader  had 

109 
I 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

made  up  his  mind  to  find  an  excuse,  stop  the  car  and 
go  back  to  his  office. 

To  his  relief  the  man  of  money  made  no  further  at- 
tempt at  conversation,  save  for  an  occasional  whispered 
order  to  his  liveried  chauffeur.  Vassar's  eyes  rested  on 
the  military  cut  of  this  chauffeur's  clothes  with  new 
resentment.  The  gilded  coat  of  arms  on  the  door  of 
the  tonneau  had  not  escaped  him  as  he  took  his  seat 
beside  Virginia.  Nor  was  the  lordly  manner  in  which 
the  new  master  of  men  condescended  to  talk  with  his 
servant  at  the  wheel  lost  on  the  young  leader  of  de- 
mocracy. 

He  wondered  what  Virginia  Holland  could  see  in 
such  a  man.  He  refused  utterly  to  believe  that  she 
could  love  him.  Elemental  brute  strength  and  stark 
physical  courage  he  undoubtedly  possessed.  The  solid 
mass  of  his  bull  neck  and  the  cold  brilliance  of  his  gray 
eyes  left  no  doubt  on  that  score. 

There  could  be  but  one  explanation  of  her  associa- 
tion with  Waldron.  He  had  generously  loosed  his  purse 
strings  and  given  her  cause  the  unlimited  credit  needed 
under  modern  conditions  to  conduct  a  great  political 
movement.  No  one  could  blame  her  for  that.  It  was 
good  politics. 

All  the  same  he  would  give  a  good  deal  just  now 
to  know  whether  she  cared  for  the  man.  He  must  yield 
110 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  devil  his  due.  Waldron  was  the  type  of  domineering 
brute  that  appealed  to  many  women.  He  wondered  if 
Virginia  Holland  had  felt  the  spell  of  his  commanding 
character. 

For  the  hundredth  time  he  asked  himself  the  question 
why  should  he  care.  There  was  the  rub.  Devil  take  it, 
he  did  care.  He  had  never  been  so  foolishly  happy 
in  his  life  as  in  the  hours  he  had  spent  by  this  girl's 
side.  It  infuriated  him  to  think  how  easy  had  been 
his  conquest.  But  yesterday  he  had  scorned  her  name. 
They  had  met  and  talked  a  few  hours  and  he  had  become 
her  lackey.  At  her  bidding  he  was  now  on  his  way  to 
the  house  of  the  man  he  hated. 

He  caught  himself  grinning  for  sheer  joy  to  find 
himself  seated  close  beside  her  in  the  smooth  gliding 
car  of  his  enemy.  He  could  have  enjoyed  this  wonder- 
ful ride  had  they  been  alone. 

The  afternoon  was  one  of  glorious  beauty.  The 
rains  of  the  first  days  of  July  had  swept  the  city  clean. 
The  sun  had  broken  the  clouds  into  billowing  banks  of 
snow-white  against  the  dazzling  azure  of  the  skies.  A 
brisk  inspiriting  breeze  swept  in  from  the  sea  and  rip- 
pled the  waters  of  the  North  River  into  little  white 
lines  of  foam.  The  trees  along  the  Drive  flashed  in 
splendor. 

The  temptation  was  all  but  resistless  to  touch  her 
111 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hand.  He  started  with  terror  at  the  crazy  thought. 
She  was  anything  but  an  Amazon,  but  he  could  see  her 
pitching  him  headforemost  into  the  road  for  daring 
the  impertinence.  He  glanced  at  her  furtively,  alarmed 
lest  she  had  read  his  thoughts. 

Well,  there  was  no  help  for  it  now.  He  was  in  for 
a  fight  for  his  life  with  this  demure,  quiet,  dangerous 
little  woman,  who  could  sit  calmly  by  his  side  mistress 
of  her  thoughts  and  no  doubt  perfectly  conscious  of  her 
power  over  his. 

Anyhow  she  was  worth  a  fight.  It  was  worth  any 
man's  best  to  win  the  heart  of  such  a  woman  and  to 
make  her  his  own.  Could  any  man  really  do  it?  Of 
course  he  could!  With  the  next  breath  he  doubted 
it,  and  trembled  at  the  happiness  he  felt  bubbling 
in  his  soul  when  he  felt  the  nearness  of  her  exquisite 
figure. 

"Why  so  grave,  Mr.  Congressman?"  she  asked  ban- 
teringly. 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,  I'm  scared,"  he  answered  in 
low  tones. 

"Of  the  great  man  in  front?"  she  whispered. 

Vassar's  jaw  closed  with  decision. 

"Far  from  it,  I  assure  you!" 

"You're  not  afraid  of  an  automobile?" 

"One   more   guess — " 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You  couldn't  be  afraid  of  little  me?"  she  asked  de- 
murely. 

"Yesterday  I  would  have  said  no  with  a  very  loud 
emphasis.  I'm  free  to  confess  the  more  I've  seen  of  you 
the  more  I  dread  your  opposition — " 

She  laughed  in  his  face  with  a  deliberate  provoking 
challenge. 

"Now  that's  unkind  of  you !  I  expected  a  much  more 
gallant  answer  from  a  tall  handsome  apostle  of  ro- 
mance and  chivalry." 

"Perhaps  I  was  afraid  you'd  laugh  at  me — " 

"No.  I  hold  that  the  age  of  true  chivalry  is  only 
dawning — the  age  in  which  man  will  honor  woman  by 
recognizing  her  as  worthy  to  be  his  pal  and  best  friend 
as  well  as  his  toy." 

There  was  something  so  genuine  to  the  appeal  of  her 
personality  that  the  man  who  intellectually  disagreed 
with  her  philosophy  yet  found  himself  in  foolish  accord 
with  every  demand  she  made. 

Vassar  was  silent  a  moment,  and  glanced  at  her  to 
see  if  she  were  chaffing  or  sparring  to  uncover  his  de- 
fenses. 

He  was  about  to  say  too  much — to  confess  too  much 
and  do  it  clumsily  in  the  presence  of  the  man  he  hated 
when  the  machine  suddenly  swung  toward  the  cliff,  swept 
up  to  a  massive  iron  gate  and  stopped. 
113 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  chauffeur  sounded  his  horn  and  an  old  man 
dressed  in  the  peasant  costume  of  the  lodge-keeper  of 
a  feudal  estate  of  Central  Europe  emerged  from  the 
cottage  built  into  the  walls  of  the  cliff  and  opened  the 
gates  without  a  word.  He  bowed  humbly  to  the  lord 
of  the  manor.  Waldron  nodded  carelessly. 

The  banker's  medieval  castle,  perched  on  the  highest 
hill  on  upper  Manhattan,  was  one  of  the  sights  of  the 
metropolis.  Vassar  lifted  his  eyes  and  caught  the 
majestic  lines  of  the  granite  tower  thrusting  its  grim 
embattlements  into  the  skies.  An  ocean-going  yacht 
lay  at  her  anchor  in  the  river  like  a  huge  swan  with 
folded  wings.  The  Italian  boathouse  which  he  had 
built  at  the  water's  edge  was  connected  with  his  castle 
by  an  underground  passage  bored  through  the  granite 
cliff  into  a  hall  cut  out  of  the  stone  a  hundred  feet  be- 
neath the  foundations  of  the  structure  above.  A  swift 
elevator  connected  this  hall  with  the  house. 

The  machine  shot  gracefully  up  the  steep  winding 
roadway  and  stopped  beneath  the  vaulted  porte- 
cochere. 

Liveried  flunkies  hurried  down  the  stone  landing  to 
greet  their  master  and  his  guests.  There  was  nothing 
for  them  to  do  but  open  the  door  of  the  tonneau  with 
obsequious  bows. 

"Will  you  kindly  make  our  prisoner  as  comfortable 
114 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

as  possible,  Miss  Holland,"  Waldron  said  in  his  even 
metallic  voice,  "while  I  give  some  orders  outside.  You'll 
find  the  library  at  your  disposal." 

"Thank  you,"  Virginia  answered,  mounting  the  steps 
without  further  ceremony. 

A  feeling  of  resentment  swept  John  Vassar.  How 
dare  this  bully  assume  such  familiarity  with  Virginia 
Holland!  She  had  met  him  as  a  patron  of  the  cause 
of  woman's  suffrage.,  One  would  think  he  had  the  right 
to  her  soul  and  body  by  the  way  he  asked  her  to  act 
as  the  hostess  of  his  establishment.  The  thought  that 
enraged  him  was  that  the  banker  was  so  cocksure  of 
himself,  his  position.  No  robber  baron  of  the  Middle 
Ages  could  have  felt  more  irresponsible  in  the  exercise 
of  his  power.  The  consciousness  of  this  power  oozed 
from  the  fat  pores  of  Waldron's  skin.  He  exuded  the 
idea  as  he  breathed. 

Vassar's  first  impression  on  entering  the  great  house 
confirmed  his  idea  of  the  man's  character.  The  whole 
conception  of  the  place  rested  squarely  on  the  royal 
splendors  of  the  Old  World.  The  lines  of  the  huge 
building  were  a  combination  of  two  famous  castles  of 
medieval  France,  both  the  homes  of  kings.  The  great 
hall  was  an  exact  copy  in  form  and  decoration  of  the 
throne  room  of  Napoleon  in  the  palace  at  Versailles. 

His  library  walls  above  the  bookcases  bristled  with 
115 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

arms  and  armor.    Anything  more  utterly  undemocratic 
could  not  have  been  found  in  the  centers  of  Europe. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  place  was  stifling. 

Vassar  turned  to  Virginia  with  a  movement  of  im- 
patience. 

"You  like  this?"  he  asked. 

"I  think  it  very  imposing,"  was  the  diplomatic 
answer. 

"So  do  I,"  he  snapped,  "and  that's  why  I  loathe  it. 
Such  ostentation  in  a  democracy  whose  life  is  just  be- 
ginning can  mean  but  one  thing.  The  man  who  built 
this  castle  to  crown  the  highest  hill  of  a  city  is  capable 
of  building  a  throne  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White 
House  if  the  time  ever  comes  that  he  dares — " 

Virginia  shook  her  head  good-humoredly. 

"I'm  afraid  you're  prejudiced  against  our  patron 
saint." 

"No,"  Vassar  answered  steadily,  "I'm  not  prejudiced. 
I  hate  him  with  the  hatred  that  is  uncompromising — 
that's  all.  There's  not  room  for  the  two  things  for 
which  we  stand  in  this  republic.  One  of  us  must  live, 
the  other  die." 

"I  suppose  a  woman  doesn't  look  on  such  a  house  as 
this  with  your  eyes,"  she  answered  smiling. 

"No,  that's  just  it — you  don't — and  it's  one  of  the 
reasons  why  I'm  afraid  of  you — " 
116 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  turned  to  examine  the  collection  of  chain 
armor  at  the  end  of  the  room  without  waiting  for  her 
answer.  He  was  in  a  bad  humor.  The  place  had  gotten 
on  his  nerves. 

When  he  returned  again,  regretting  his  curt  speech, 
she  was  standing  at  the  entrance  talking  in  low  tones 
to  Waldron.  His  footstep  had  made  no  sound  on  the 
cushion  of  oriental  rugs  which  covered  the  inlaid  marble 
floor. 

Without  so  much  as  a  look  his  way  she  passed  Wal- 
dron and  left  the  library. 

The  banker  walked  briskly  toward  Vassar  and  waved 
his  short,  heavy  arm  toward  a  chair. 

"Won't  you  sit  down,  sir?"  he  asked  coldly. 

With  mechanical  precision  he  opened  a  jeweled  cigar- 
ette box  and  extended  it. 

"Thanks,"  Vassar  answered  carelessly,  "I  have  a 
cigar." 

He  struck  a  match  on  his  heel,  lit  the  cigar  and  seated 
himself  leisurely. 

Waldron  sat  down  opposite  and  began  his  attack 
without  delay. 

"Miss  Holland  has  just  informed  me  that  you  are 
unalterably  opposed  to  woman's  suffrage?" 

"Until  I  see  it  differently,  I  am,"  was  the  tense 
reply. 

117 


THE  FALL  OF>  A  NATION 

"I  take  it  then  that  it  will  be  a  waste  of  words  for 
us  to  discuss  that  question?" 

"Yes — and  before  we  waste  words  on  any  other  ques- 
tion I  must  ask  whom  you  represent  in  this  conference 
concerning  my  career?" 

"I'll  tell  you  with  pleasure,"  was  the  quick  answer. 
"I  am  perhaps  the  largest  contributor  to  the  cause  of 
woman's  suffrage — " 

"Do  you  believe  in  it?"  Vassar  interrupted  sharply. 

Waldron  weighed  his  answer  and  spoke  with  metallic 
emphasis. 

"Whether  I  do  or  do  not  is  beside  the  mark  for  the 
moment.  You  have  settled  that  issue  between  us,  and 
my  views  are  of  no  importance.  I  am  pressing  for  a 
woman's  victory  for  a  more  important  reason  than  my 
faith  in  her  ballot  or  my  lack  of  faith  in  its  ultimate 
effects.  The  immediate  result  of  women's  vote  will  be 
to  make  war  remote.  My  big  purpose  is  to  prevent  this 
nation  from  sinking  into  the  abyss  of  militarism  in 
which  Europe  now  flounders — " 

"In  other  words,"  Vassar  broke  in,  "you  mean  to 
prevent  this  country  from  preparing  to  defend  herself 
from  the  power  of  Imperial  Europe?" 

Waldron  searched  his  opponent  for  a  moment  of  in- 
tense silence  and  slowly  answered: 

"If  you  care  to  put  it  that  way — yes.  I  represent 
118 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  combined  forces  of  peace  and  sanity  in  this  nation. 
We  have  determined  that  America  shall  not  be  cursed 
by  the  military  caste.  We  are  determined  that  our 
country  shall  not  follow  in  the  mad  blind  race  of  the 
Old  World  in  building  armaments  with  which  to  mur- 
der our  fellow  men.  I  have  made  no  secret  of  my  pur- 
pose and  I  am  going  to  win.  I  am  going  to  defeat  your 
bill  to  place  our  army  and  navy  on  the  footing  of  war- 
cursed  Europe — " 

"My  bill  does  not  propose  to  establish  a  military 
caste,"  Vassar  protested.  "It  only  demands  a  trained 
citizen  soldiery  for  adequate  defense,  armed  and  ready 
to  enter  the  field,  an  effective  wall  of  patriotic  fire  if 
we  are  assailed.  I  ask  a  navy  that  will  be  absolutely 
sure  to  sink  the  fleet  of  any  power  that  may  attack 
us.  I  do  not  ask  that  this  fleet  shall  be  in  constant 
commission,  only  that  it  shall  be  built  and  ready  for 
service." 

"Your  demand  is  preposterous,"  Waldron  coldly  an- 
swered. "You  aslc  for  a  Bond  issue  of  $500,000,000  for 
naval  purposes  only — " 

"Anything  less  will  He  inadequate.  We  are  Behind 
the  world  in  guns,  Behind  tEe  world  in  aircraft,  Behind 
the  world  in  submarines.  We  invented  the  aeroplane. 
We  invented  the  machine  gun.  We  invente'd  tHe  iron- 
clad. [We  invented  the  submarine.  We  must  lead  the 
119 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

world  in  these  arms  of  defense — not  follow,  the  last  lame 
duck  in  the  march !  An  inadequate  navy  no  matter  how 
great  its  size  is  worse  than  none.  It  will  merely  lead  us 
Into  trouble  and  murder  our  defenders.  War  is  now  a 
merciless  science.  Skill,  not  physical  courage,  wins. 
The  machine  has  become  the  master  of  the  world — " 

"Please !"  Waldron  cried  with  hand  uplifted  in  a  ges- 
ture of  impatience.  "I  know  your  speech  by  heart. 
It's  old.  It  doesn't  interest  me.  Come  to  the  point. 
If  you'll  agree  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Mili- 
tary Affairs  to  modify  your  bill  to  train  and  arm  a 
million  citizen  soldiers,  and  reduce  your  naval  pro- 
gramme to  two  battleships,  four  cruisers,  twenty-four 
submarines  and  twenty-four  aeroplanes,  we  can  come 
to  terms — " 

Vassar  rose,  fixed  his  opponent  with  a  searching  look 
and  said: 

"I'll  see  you  in  hell  first—" 

"All  right,"  Waldron  snapped.  "I'm  going  to  wipe 
you  off  the  map.  There'll  be  a  new  chairman  of  your 
Committee  when  Congress  meets  in  December — " 

Vassar  held  his  enemy  with  a  steady  gaze. 

"You  haven't  enough  dirty  money  to  buy  my  dis- 
trict, Waldron,"  he  answered.    "We're  a  humble  people 
on  the  East  Side,  but  I'll  show  you  that  there  are  some 
things  in  this  town  that  are  not  for  sale — " 
120 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

A  smile  of  contempt  played  about  the  banker's  cold 
lips  as  he  rose. 

"I'll  be  there  when  you  make  the  demonstration,"  he 
responded  with  careful  emphasis. 

"You'll  excuse  me  now?"  Vassar  said  politely. 

"Certainly.  My  car  will  drop  you  at  any  address 
you  name." 

"Thank  you,  I  prefer  the  subway." 

"As  you  like,"  the  metallic  voice  clicked. 


CHAPTER  XI 

VASSAR  turned  with  a  quick  movement,  passed 
into  the  hall  and  ran  squarely  into  Virginia 
who  was  about  to  enter  the  library. 

"Your  interview  at  an  end  so  soon?  I  took  a  turn 
in  the  garden  for  only  five  minutes.  I  was  to  join  your 
conference.  You  have  quarreled?" 

"No— just  agreed  to  fight,  that's  all—" 

"A  compromise  is  impossible?" 

"Utterly—" 

"I  am  sorry,"  she  answered  gravely. 

The  iron  doors  of  the  elevator  softly  opened  with  a 
low  click  and  two  slender  young  men  of  decidedly  for- 
eign features  stepped  briskly  out,  accompanied  by  the 
tall,  straight  figure  of  Villard.  They  crossed  the  hall 
and  ascended  the  broad  stairway  as  if  at  home.  The 
clothes  of  the  younger  men  were  fitted  with  extreme 
care.  The  waist  line  was  gracefully  modeled.  It  was 
evident  that  they  both  wore  corsets.  They  walked  with 
the  quick,  measured  tread  of  the  trained  soldier.  From 
their  yachting  caps  it  was  evident  they  had  just  entered 
the  house  through  the  tunnel  from  the  river  landing. 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Their  slight  waxed  mustaches  particularly  caught  Vas- 
sar's  attention  and  brought  a  smile  of  contempt.  Un- 
doubtedly they  were  the  pampered  darlings  of  a  foreign 
court,  friends  of  Waldron's  whom  he  was  cultivating 
for  some  purpose.  The  Congressman  wondered  what 
the  devil  they  could  be  doing  in  America  when  all  the 
Old  World  was  at  war?  He  also  wondered  who  Villard 
was — Villard  with  his  fierce  upturned  mustache  after 
the  style  of  von  Hindenberg.  They  might  be  South 
Americans  or  from  the  Balkan  states  of  course.  Wal- 
dron's  banking  house  was  one  of  the  international 
group  and  his  agents  came  from  every  corner  of  the 
globe. 

When  they  had  passed  Virginia  quietly  asked : 

"May  I  go  downtown  with  you?" 

In  the  tumult  of  anger  that  still  raged  within  over 
Waldron's  challenge  the  incongruity  of  the  proposal 
struck  him  with  new  force.  The  offer  seemed  almost 
brazen.  Under  conditions  of  a  normal  environment  it 
would  have  meant  nothing  more  than  a  pretty  attempt 
to  console  him  in  an  hour  of  disappointment.  Coming 
at  the  moment  of  his  departure  from  the  sinister  estab- 
lishment of  the  man  he  hated,  it  struck  him  as  suggestive 
of  a  secret  understanding  between  the  two. 

His  one  desire  now  was  to  be  alone  and  breathe  clean 


123 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You'll  not  like  the  long  rough  walk  to  the  subway; 
I'm  afraid,"  he  protested. 

"You  will  not  return  in  the  car?"  she  asked  in  sur- 
prise. 

"I  prefer  to  walk—" 

"You'll  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  she  answered  firmly. 
"You'll  go  with  me — and  I'm  not  going  to  walk." 

"You  must  excuse  me" — he  persisted. 

"I  will  not.  And  I'll  never  speak  to  you  again 
unless  you  obey  my  orders  for  this  one  afternoon  at 
least." 

He  searched  her  face  to  see  if  she  meant  it,  caught 
the  look  of  determination  and  answered  in  quick  tones 
of  apology. 

"Of  course,  if  you  really  wish  it,  you  know  that  it 
will  give  me  pleasure — " 

Virginia  returned  to  the  library,  spoke  to  Waldron 
and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were  again  seated  by  each 
other's  side  swiftly  gliding  down  the  Drive. 

"Stop  at  the  Claremont,"  she  called  to  the  chauffeur. 
"I'm  starved.  We  would  have  had  lunch  served  in  the 
library  if  your  lordship  had  not  been  so  proud  and 
particular — " 

"I  couldn't  eat  at  Waldron's  table.  I'd  choke,"  he 
answered  in  low  tones. 

"I'm  afraid  you're  not  a  good  politician  after  all," 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

she  observed.  "You  are  too  emotional.  You  allow 
your  temperament  to  betray  you  into  errors  of  dip- 
lomacy. You  should  have  cultivated  Waldron,  flattered 
his  vanity  and  studied  his  character — " 

"I  know  it  already—" 

"I  thought  so  at  first  myself,"  she  answered  thought- 
fully. "The  more  I  see  of  him  the  less  I  know  him. 
He's  a  puzzle—" 

"He's  merely  an  ape  of  foreign  snobs — that's  all*'* 

"You  utterly  misjudge  him,"  Virginia  protested. 
"He  has  too  much  strength  for  that.  His  ambitions  are 
too  great." 

"Then  he's  more  dangerous  than  I  have  thought." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  asked  in  surprise. 

"Nothing  that  I  could  put  into  words  without  making 
myself  ridiculous  in  your  eyes  perhaps,  yet  the  idea 
grows  on  me — " 

Virginia  laughed. 

"You  can't  do  an  opponent  justice,  can  you?" 

"No— can  you?" 

The  car  swept  gracefully  up  the  roadway  to  the  rose- 
embowered  white  cottage  on  the  hill.  They  leaped  out 
and  found  a  table  in  the  corner  overlooking  the  majestic 
sweep  of  the  river  and  Jersey  hills  beyond. 

Vassar  was  moody  in  spite  of  the  inspiring  view  and 
the  radiant  face  opposite.  Again  and  again  he  tried 
125 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

to  pull  himself  out  of  the  dumps  and  enjoy  this  wonder- 
ful hour  with  the  most  fascinating  woman  he  had  ever 
met.  It  was  no  use.  Waldron's  frozen  smile,  his  royal 
establishment,  his  corseted  pets,  his  big  friend  with  the 
fierce  mustache,  his  white  yacht  and  the  soft  click  of 
the  doors  of  that  elevator  filled  his  mind  with  sinister 
suggestions. 

"I'm  so  disappointed  in  you,"  Virginia  said  at  last. 

"Why?" 

"I'd  planned  to  relax  a  little  this  afternoon.  It's 
Saturday  you  know.  I  thought  you  might  be  human 
enough  just  to  play  for  a  few  hours.  I  wanted  to 
find  the  real  man  side  of  you — not  the  statesman  or  the 
politician — " 

"To  study  me  under  the  microscope  as  another  speci- 
men of  the  species  and  plan  my  extermination  ?" 

"No — to  get  acquainted  in  the  simplest  kind  of  old- 
fashioned  way.  But  I  see  it's  no  use  today.  You're  a 
greater  enigma  to  me  than  Waldron.  But  I'm  not 
going  to  be  beaten  so  easily.  I'm  going  to  find  you 
out  now  that  I've  made  up  my  mind.  I've  a  proposal 
to  make  before  we  begin  the  scrap  in  your  district — " 
•  "A  proposal?"  he  asked  mischievously. 

"Yes!  It's  hardly  decent  I  know.  Anyhow,  I'm 
not  wholly  responsible  for  it.  You've  made  a  won- 
derful hit  with  my  old  soldier  Dad.  He  has  talked 
126 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

nothing  else  but  your  bill  for  an  adequate  national 
defense.  He  has  positively  ordered  me  to  make  you 
our  guest  for  a  couple  of  weeks  at  our  country  place 
on  Long  Island — " 

Vassar  blushed  like  a  schoolboy. 

"I  should  be  only  too  happy — " 

"I  warn  you  that  the  Old  Guard  will  talk  you  into 
a  spell  of  sickness  about  war  and  the  certainty  of  this 
country  being  captured  by  the  Germans  or  Japs — " 

"He  can't  say  too  much  to  me  on  that  subject," 
Vassar  declared. 

"And  if  you'll  bring  your  father  and  the  children 
I'm  sure  we  could  keep  you  until  I've  wormed  the  last 
secret  out  of  you — " 

"It  wouldn't  be  imposing  on  you?" 

"You  would  do  us  a  favor.  Zonia  would  keep  Billy 
at  home.  Marya  and  your  father  would  be  an  endless 
source  of  joy  to  my  mother.  We've  a  big  old  house 
and  a  lot  of  vacant  rooms.  You'll  bring  them  all?" 

"My  dear  Miss  Holland,"  he  answered  gratefully, 
"you  overwhelm  me  with  your  kindness.  My  father  and 
the  kids  have  never  been  so  honored.  You  will  make 
them  supremely  happy — " 

"You  see,"  Virginia  interrupted,  "I've  a  scheme  Hack 
of  this  invitation.  I've  not  only  determined  to  find  you 
out,  but  I'm  a  politician  whether  you  like  it  or  not. 
127 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

I'm  going  to  make  it  just  as  difficult  as  I  possibly  can 
for  you  to  fight  me.  You'll  walk  into  the  trap  with 
your  eyes  wide  open — " 

"I  absolve  you  from  all  responsibility  for  my  ruin," 
he  laughed. 

"You'll  join  us  at  Babylon  on  Sunday?" 

"Tomorrow?" 

"The  sooner  the  better.    We  go  down  this  evening — " 

The  clouds  suddenly  lifted.  Vassar  couldn't  keep 
his  face  straight.  He  was  so  happy  it  was  absurd.  An 
hour  ago  he  was  in  the  depths  of  despair.  The  founda- 
tions of  the  nation's  life  were  sinking.  The  sky  had 
cleared.  The  sun  was  sparkling  on  the  waters  of  the 
river  in  dazzling  splendor.  The  world  was  beautiful 
and  the  country  safe. 

His  mind  was  planning  absurd  programs  for  each 
day.  He  wondered  for  just  a  moment  if  she  could  be 
capable  of  plotting  with  Waldron  to  remove  him  from 
the  district  for  two  weeks,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a 
movement  to  wreck  his  career — 

He  looked  into  the  depths  of  her  brown  eyes  and 
threw  the  ugly  thought  to  the  winds. 


CHAPTER  XII 

V ASS  All  determined  that  every  day  of  the  two 
•  weeks  at  Babylon  should  be  red  lettered  in  his 
life.  He  had  never  taken  a  vacation ;  nor  had 
his  father.  It  was  time  to  adopt  this  good  custom  of 
the  country.  It  was  mid-July.  The  campaign  would 
not  really  be  under  way  until  October.  There  was 
nothing  to  worry  about.  Neither  the  suffragettes  with 
their  organization  nor  Waldron  with  his  money  could 
break  his  hold  on  the  hearts  of  his  people. 

He  gave  himself  up  to  the  sheer  joy  of  living  for 
the  first  time  in  life.  Through  the  long  glorious  early 
days  he  drove  with  Virginia  in  her  little  dogcart  about 
the  beautiful  country  roads  of  Long  Island.  He  had 
never  dreamed  the  panoramas  of  ravishing  landscape 
that  stretched  away  in  endless  beauty.  He  found  gentle 
hills  and  valleys,  babbling  brooks  and  shady  woods  and 
always  seaward  the  solemn  white  sand  dunes  of  the 
beach  and  the  changing  mirror  of  the  bay  reflecting 
their  shining  forms.  On  days  when  the  wind  was  right 
the  far-away  roar  of  the  surf  could  be  distinctly  heard. 

Each  day  alone  with  the  charming  and  brilliant 
129 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 


woman  by  his  side  had  led  him  deeper  and  deeper  into 
the  mazes  of  a  fascination  that  had  become  resistless. 
They  talked  with  deep  earnestness  of  the  great  things 
of  life  and  eternity.  She  made  no  effort  to  conceal 
her  keen  personal  interest  in  the  man  she  was  studying. 

With  deliberate  purpose  she  had  abandoned  herself 
to  the  romantic  situation  of  being  sought  and  courted 
by  a  handsome,  fascinating  man.  He  wondered  vaguely 
if  she  were  experimenting  with  her  own  character,  and 
merely  using  him  for  the  moment  for  the  purpose  of 
chemical  reaction?  He  shivered  at  the  uncanny  idea. 
It  was  disconcerting.  She  might  be  capable  of  such 
a  gruesome  process.,  For  the  life  of  him  he  couldn't 
make  out  as  yet  whether  such  a  woman  was  capable  of 
real  passion. 

There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  about  his  own  situ- 
ation. He  had  faced  the  fact  squarely.  He  was  in 
love — madly,  passionately,  hopelessly — the  one  grand 
passion  of  mature  manhood.  Its  violence  frightened  him. 
He  was  afraid  to  put  it  to  the  test  with  a  declaration. 
He  must  wait  and  be  sure  of  a  response  on  her  part. 
There  was  too  much  at  stake  to  bungle  such  an  issue. 
If  he  could  win  her  by  surrender  on  the  suffrage  ques- 
tion, he  would  give  her  two  ballots  if  she  wanted  them. 
He  knew  her  character  too  well  to  believe  that  such 
ignoble  surrender  of  principle  merely  to  please  could 
130 


THE  FALL  OF  'A  NATION 

succeed.  She  would  accept  his  help  in  her  cause  and 
despise  him  for  a  weakling  in  her  heart. 

As  the  time  drew  near  that  he  must  go  he  knew  with 
increasing  fear  the  supreme  hour  of  life  had  struck. 
He  must  put  his  fate  to  the  test.  He  took  his  seat 
in  a  rowboat  facing  her  and  drifted  into  the  silver 
sea  of  moon,  fully  determined.  An  hour  passed  and  he 
had  only  spoken  commonplace  nothings.  With  each 
effort  his  courage  grew  weaker. 

If  she  were  like  other  girls  he  would  have  dared  it. 
"Faint  heart  ne'er  won  fair  lady,"  he  kept  repeating 
as  he  tried  in  vain  to  screw  his  mind  up  to  the  point 
of  speech.  It  was  no  use.  She  was  not  the  fair  lady 
of  song  and  story.  She  had  a  disconcerting  way  of 
demanding  the  reason  for  things. 

He  gave  it  up  at  last  and  spent  an  evening  of  su- 
preme happiness  drifting  and  listening  to  the  soft  round 
flute-like  notes  of  her  voice.  He  would  speak  tomorrow. 
They  had  two  days  more.  Tomorrow  they  were  to 
take  a  long  ride  down  the  smooth  road  to  Southampton 
in  her  little  runabout.  She  was  an  expert  at  the  wheel 
of  an  automobile  and  they  had  explored  the  whole  south 
side  of  Long  Island  in  the  past  five  days. 

He  had  grown  to  love  the  peace  and  charm  of  this 
wonderful  isle — homes — homes — homes — everywhere ! 
laughing  children  played  beside  the  roadways.  Smil- 
131 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ing  boys  and  girls  made  hill  and  valley  ring  with 
joy. 

He  had  promised  Zonia  and  Marya  to  take  the  cot- 
tage across  the  turnpike  in  front  of  the  spacious  lawn 
of  the  Holland  homestead  and  let  them  spend  the  sum- 
mer there.  His  father  had  joined  in  their  clamor  and 
he  had  consented.  The  cottage  was  furnished  and  a 
power  launch  went  with  it  for  a  reasonable  rent.  They 
were  to  move  down  next  week.  There  would  be  but 
two  days'  break  in  the  new  life  they  had  begun  in  this 
fairyland  of  sun  and  sky,  trees  and  flowers,  laughing 
waters  and  shining  seas. 

Why  should  he  press  his  suit?  He  would  wait  and 
see  more  of  her.  And  then  the  crisis  came  that  hurled 
him  haadlong  into  a  decision: 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  idea  that  her  child  might  attain  the  highest 
honor  within  the  reach  of  any  man  on  earth 
had  stirred  Angela  to  the  depths  and  given 
new  meaning  and  dignity  to  life.  She  lifted  her  head. 
She  had  borne  a  child  whose  word  might  bend  a  million 
wills  to  his.  The  world  was  a  bigger,  nobler  place  in 
which  to  live. 

She  was  stirred  with  sudden  purpose  to  leave  no  stone 
unturned  to  bring  this  dream  to  pass.  She  bought 
books  of  the  lives  of  the  presidents.  Twice  she  read 
the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  humble  backwoods- 
man rail-splitter  who  became  president. 

But  her  vivid  Italian  imagination  loved  the  stories 
of  George  Washington,  the  first  president,  best.  He 
was  nearest  in  history  to  Columbus,  the  Italian  who 
discovered  America.  She  read  the  legends  of  little 
George  Washington's  adventures  and  began  to  play  the 
mighty  drama  of  her  own  son's  career  by  guiding  his 
feet  in  the  same  path. 

She  had  laughed  immoderately  over  George  cutting 
his  father's  cherry-tree.  She  was  sure  her  bambino 
133 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

was  capable  of  that!  If  George  cut  cherry-trees,  of 
course  his  father  had  cherries  to  eat.  She  got  at  once 
a  lot  of  cherries  and  fed  them  to  the  boy,  laughing  and 
nursing  her  dream. 

She  found  a  picture  of  Washington  in  his  Colonial 
dress.  The  style  pleased  her  fancy.  She  went  forth- 
with, bought  the  material  and  made  her  boy  a  suit  with 
cockade  hat  exactly  like  it. 

Tommaso  was  amazed  on  entering  the  living-room 
from  the  fruit  store  to  find  the  kid  arrayed  in  the 
strange  garb.  Angela  was  stuffing  some  cotton  under 
the  cockade  hat  to  make  it  fit,  studying  the  picture  to 
be  sure  of  the  effect. 

When  she  explained,  Tommaso  joined  in  the  play 
with  equal  zest. 

When  the  boy  had  exhausted  the  admiration  of  his 
father  and  mother  he  sallied  forth  into  the  street  to 
meet  his  little  friends  and  show  his  clothes. 

He  had  scarcely  cleared  the  door  when  "Sausage" 
emerged  from  the  Schultz  delicatessen  store  and  the  two 
met  halfway.  No  hard  feelings  had  lingered  from  their 
fight  in  the  old  Armory.  Sausage's  admiration  was 
boundless.  He  had  just  persuaded  little  Tommaso  to 
go  home  and  show  them  to  his  own  mother  when  they 
turned  and  saw  Meyer  unloading  a  truck  filled  with 
curious  looking  long  boxes. 
134 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

They  ran  up  to  investigate  just  as  a  case  fell  and 
a  gun  dropped  to  the  pavement. 

The  kids  rushed  to  Benda's  to  tell  Angela  and 
Tommaso. 

"I  told  you  that  man  was  no  good !"  Angela  exclaimed. 
"Go — and  see  quick  and  we  tell  Vasa' — " 

Tommaso  hurried  across  the  street  and  found  Meyer 
standing  over  the  broken  case.  Meyer  faced  the  Italian 
without  ceremony: 

"Cost  your  life  to  open  your  yap  about  these  guns — 
see?" 

Tommaso  snapped  his  finger  in  the  other's  face : 

"Go  fell !" 

He  turned  on  his  heel  to  go,  saw  his  wife  and  the 
children  near,  rushed  back  and  snapped  his  finger  again 
in  Meyer's  face: 

"Go  fell  two  times — see — two  times!" 

Meyer  merely  held  his  gaze  in  a  moment  of  angry 
silence  and  turned  to  his  work.; 

Tommaso  rushed  back  into  his  flat,  pushed  things 
from  the  table,  seized  a  pen  and  wrote  a  hurried  note  to 
his  leader. 

CONGRESSMAN  VASA: 

Men  unload  guns  in  our  street.     He  say  killa 
me  if  I  tell.     I  tell  him  go  fell.     I  tell  him  go 
135 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

t'ell  two  times.      I   Americano.     My  kid  he  be 
president — maybe — 

TOMMASO  BENDA. 

He  hurried  Angela  into  her  best  new  American  cut 
dress  and  sent  her  with  the  boy  to  Long  Island  to  tell 
Vassar. 

The  visit  all  but  ended  in  a  tragedy  for  poor  Angela. 
While  searching  the  spacious  Holland  grounds  for  her 
leader,  the  boy  suddenly  spied  a  hatchet  with  which 
the  master  had  been  mending  a  box  in  which  he  was 
cultivating  a  precious  orange-tree  that  had  been 
carefully  guarded  in  a  hothouse  during  the  winter 
months. 

The  kid  saw  his  chance  to  emulate  the  example  of 
George  Washington.  He  lost  no  time.  The  tree  was 
well  hacked  before  Holland  pounced  upon  him. 

The  old  man  had  him  by  the  ear  when  Angela  dashed 
to  the  rescue.  She  saw  the  scarred  tree  with  horror 
and  her  apologies  were  profuse. 

"Ah,  pardon,  signer!  You  see  his  little  suit — he 
play  George  Wash — and  cutta  the  cherry-tree — " 

She  paused  and  shook  the  boy  ficercely. 

"Ah — you  maka  me  seek!" 

Holland  began  to  smile  at  the  roguish  beauty  of  the 
boy  glancing  up  from  the  corners  of  his  dark,  beauti- 
ful eyes. 

136 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar,  Virginia,  Zonia  and  Marya  hearing  the  com- 
motion, rushed  up. 

Angela  extended  her  apologies  to  all. 

"You  see,  he  really  think  he's  leetle  George  Wash— * 
I  mak  him  speak  his  piece — you  like  to  hear  it?" 

Her  offer  was  greeted  by  a  chorus  of  approval. 

Angela  fixed  the  child  with  a  stern  look. 

"Speeka  your  piece!" 

The  boy  shook  his  head. 

"Speeka-your-piece !"  The  order  was  a  threat  this 
time  and  little  Tommaso  yielded. 

Bowing  gracefully,  he  faced  the  group  and  recited 
with  brave  accent: 

My  Country,  'tis  of  thee 
I  cutta  the  cherry-tree, 
Sweet  land  of  libertee 
My  name  is   George  Wash! 

He  bowed  again  as  all  laughed  and  applauded.  Vir- 
ginia took  him  in  her  arms  and  kissed  him.  While 
she  was  yet  complimenting  the  boy  on  his  fine  speech 
Angela  whispered  to  Vassar: 

"My  man  Tommaso — he  want  to  see  you,  signer! 
He  send  this — M 

She  slipped  the  note  into  Vassar's  hand,  repeated 
her  apologies  and  hurried  from  the  lawn,  shaking 
Tommaso : 

137 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Ah,  you  leetle  raik !  You  maka  me  seek — !  I  tella 
you  play  George  Wash  and  cutta  the  cherry-tree — and 
oh,  my  Mother  of  God!  You  play  hell  and  cutta  the 
orange-tree !" 

Little  Tommaso  took  the  scolding  philosophically. 
Orange  or  cherry-trees  were  all  the  same  to  him.  He 
merely  answered  his  mother's  dramatic  rage  with  a 
twinkle  of  his  eye  until  she  stooped  at  last  and  kissed 
him. 


CHAPTER  XIY 

VASSAR  looked  at  the   scrawled  note   and   saw 
that  he  must  return  to  the  city.     The  incident 
probably  meant  nothing  and  yet  it  brought  to 
his  mind  a  vague  uneasiness. 

He  instinctively  turned  to  Virginia  who  was  look- 
ing at  him  with  curious  interest.  She  spoke  with 
genuine  admiration: 

"I  had  no  idea  that  any  politician  in  America  could 
win  the  hearts  of  his  people  in  the  way  you  hold 
yours — " 

"It's  worth  while,  isn't  it?" 

"Decidedly.  It  makes  my  regret  all  the  more  keen 
that  you  will  not  accompany  me  on  my  tour  of  the 
state—" 

"You  go  soon?"  he  asfced. 

"I  leave  Monday  morning  for  a  month.  It  has  been 
one  of  my  dreams  since  we  met  that  I'd  win  you — and 
we'd  make  a  sort  of  triumphal  tour  together — " 

"You're  joking,"  he  answered  lightly. 

"I  know  now  that  it  is  not  to  be,  of  course,"  she 
said  seriously. 

139 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  hadn't  thought  of  her  being  on  such  a  fool  trip. 
Waldron  no  doubt  as  her  campaign  financier  would 
meet  her  at  many  points.  The  thought  set  the  blood 
pounding  from  his  heart. 

"Shall  we  sit  down  a  moment?"  he  suggested. 

"By  all  means  if  I  can  persuade  you,"  she  consented. 

Behind  a  rich  fir  on  the  lawn  stood  a  massive  marble 
seat.  They  strolled  to  the  spot  and  sat  down.  Hours 
of  debate  they  had  held  here  and  neither  had  yielded 
an  inch.  A  circular  trellis  of  roses  hid  the  house  from 
view  and  sheltered  the  seat  from  the  gaze  of  people 
who  might  be  crossing  the  open  space.  The  hedge 
along  the  turnpike  completely  hid  them  from  the  high- 
way. 

By  a  subtle  instinct  she  felt  the  wave  of  emotion  from 
his  tense  mind. 

A  long  silence  fell  between  them.  Her  last  speech 
had  given  him  the  cue  for  his  question.  He  had  brooded 
over  its  possible  meaning  from  the  moment  she  had  ex- 
pressed the  idea.  He  picked  a  pebble  from  the  ground, 
shot  it  from  his  fingers  as  he  had  done  with  marbles 
when  a  boy. 

Lifting  his  head  with  a  serious  look  straight  into  her 
brown  eyes  he  said: 

"Did  you  believe  for  a  moment  that  I  could  go  with 
you  on  such  a  campaign  tour?" 
140 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

She  met  his  gaze  squarely. 

"I  thought  it  too  good  to  be  true,  of  course,  and  yet 
your  unexpected  sympathy  and  your — your — shall  I 
say,  frankly  expressed  admiration,  led  me  into  all  sorts 
of  silly  hopes." 

"And  yet  you  knew  on  a  moment's  reflection  that 
such  a  surrender  of  principle  by  a  man  of  my  character 
was  out  of  the  question." 

"It  has  turned  out  to  be  so,"  she  answered 
slowly. 

"Could  you  have  respected  me  had  I  cut  a  complete 
intellectual  and  moral  somersault;  merely  at  the  wave 
of  your  beautiful  hand?" 

"I  could  respect  any  man  who  yields  to  reason,"  she 
fenced. 

He  smiled. 

"I  didn't  ask  you  that—" 

"No?" 

"You're  fencing.  And  I  must  come  to  the  real  issue 
between  us.  I  do  it  with  fear  and  trembling  and  with 
uncovered  head.  I  had  to  be  true  to  the  best  that's  in 
me  with  you  for  the  biggest  reason  that  can  sway  an 
honest  man's  soul.  I  have  loved  you  from  the  moment 
we  met — " 

He  stopped  short  and  breathed  deeply,  afraid  to  face 
her.  His  declaration  had  called  for  no  answer.  She 
141 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

remained  silent.  From  the  corner  of  his  eye  he  noted 
the  tightening  of  her  firm  lips. 

"I've  tried  to  tell  you  so  a  dozen  times  this  week 
and  failed.  I  was  afraid,  it  meant  so  much  to  me.  I 
had  hoped  to  be  with  you  another  month  at  least  in  this 
beautiful  world  of  sunlight  and  flowers,  of  moon  and 
sea.  I  hoped  to  win  you  with  a  little  more  time  and 
patience.  But  I  couldn't  wait  and  see  you  go  on  this 
trip.  I  had  to  speak.  I  love  you  with  the  love  a 
strong  man  can  give  but  once  in  life.  It's  strange  that 
of  all  the  women  in  the  world  I  should  have  loved  the 
one  whose  work  I  must  oppose !  You'll  believe  me  when 
I  tell  you  that  the  fiercest  battle  I  have  ever  fought 
was  with  the  Devil  when  he  whispered  that  I  might  win- 
by  hedging  and  trimming  and  lying  diplomatically  as 
men  have  done  before  and  many  men  will  do  again.  At 
least  you  respect  me  for  the  honesty  with  which  I  have 
met  this  issue?" 

He  had  asked  her  a  direct  question  at  last.  Her 
silence  had  become  unendurable.  Her  answer  was 
scarcely  audible.  She  only  breathed  it. 

"Yes,  I  understand  and  respect  you  for  it — " 

His  heart  gave  a  throb  of  hope. 

"I  don't  ask  you  if  you  love  me  now.  I  just  want 
to  know  if  I've  a  chance  to  win  you?" 

The  impulse  to  seize  her  hand  was  resistless.     She 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

made  no  effort  to  withdraw  it  and  he  pressed  it 
tenderly. 

A  wistful  smile  played  about  the  sensitive  mouth  and 
she  was  slow  to  answer. 

"Tell  me — have  I  a  chance?"  he  pleaded. 

Her  voice  was  far  away  but  clear-toned  music.  He 
heard  his  doom  in  its  perfect  rhythm  before  the  words 
were  complete. 

"I  can't  see,"  she  began  slowly,  "how  two  people 
could  enter  the  sweet  intimacy  of  marriage  with  a  vital 
difference  of  opinion  dividing  them.  I  couldn't.  Your 
honesty  and  intellectual  strength  I  admire.  This 
honesty  and  strength  will  keep  us  opponents.  Such  an 
union  is  unthinkable — " 

"Not  if  we  love  one  another,"  he  protested  eagerly. 
'There  is  but  one  issue  in  human  life  between  man  and 
jvoman  and  that  is  love.  If  you  love  me,  nothing  else 
matters—" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"It  isn't  true.  You  love  me — but  other  things  matter. 
Otherwise  you  would  give  them  up  to  win  your  love.  I 
claim  to  be  your  equal  in  brain  and  heart  if  not  in 
muscle.  You  say  that  if  I  love  nothing  else  matters  and 
yet  you  say  in  the  same  breath  that  you  risk  your  love 
to  save  your  principles.  In  your  heart  you  know  that 
other  things  do  matter,  and  with  me  they  matter  deeply. 
143 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

I  believe  with  every  beat  of  my  heart  that  the  progress 
of  the  world  waits  on  the  advent  of  women  in  the  or- 
ganization of  its  industries,  its  politics  and  its  think- 
ing. This  consciousness  of  her  mission  in  the  modern 
woman  is  the  biggest  fact  of  our  century — " 

She  paused  and  faced  him  with  a  look  of  iron  pur- 
pose. 

"No  matter  if  I  did  love  you — I'd  tear  that  love  out 
of  my  heart  if  it  held  me  back  from  the  fulfilment  of 
the  highest  ideal  of  duty  to  my  sex — " 

"What  higher  ideal  can  any  woman  hold  than  her 
home?" 

"For  the  woman  whose  horizon  is  no  larger  there  can 
be  none.  She  can  only  see  the  world  in  which  she 
moves.  To  some  of  us  God  has  given  the  wider  view. 
What  is  one  life  if  it  is  sacrificed  to  this  higher  ideal? 
You  are  leading  the  renaissance  of  America.  So  am 
I.  Our  beautiful  country  with  her  teeming  millions 
must  rise  in  her  glory  and  live  forever  when  you  and  I 
have  passed  on.  The  soldier  sees  this  vision  when  he 
dies  in  battle.  So  I  see  it  today." 

He  stooped  again  and  gathered  a  handful  of  pebbles, 
rolling  them  thoughtfully  in  his  hand.  His  eyes  were 
on  the  ground. 

"It  isn't  Waldron?"  he  asked. 

She  smiled  with  a  touch  of  mischief. 
144 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"No.    But  I  confess  such  a  man  might  tempt  me — " 

He  threw  the  pebbles  on  the  ground  with  a  gesture 
of  impatience. 

"It's  not  true !"  he  cried,  facing  her  suddenly.  With 
a  fierce  resolution  he  seized  her  hand. 

"I  won't  take  any  such  answer,"  he  breathed 
desperately.  "You're  not  playing  this  game  fairly  with 
me.  I've  torn  my  heart  open  to  you.  You're  hedging 
and  trimming.  I  won't  have  it.  You  haven't  dared  to 
deny  your  love.  You  can't  deny  it.  You  love  me  and 
you  know  it  and  I  know  it — " 

She  lifted  her  free  hand  in  a  gesture  of  protest. 

"You  love  me!  I  feel  it!  I  know  it!"  he  repeated 
fiercely. 

With  quick  resolution  he  swept  her  into  his  arms 
and  kissed  her  lips  again  and  again.  For  just  an  in- 
stant he  felt  her  body  relax. 

The  next  minute  she  had  freed  herself  and  faced  him, 
her  eyes  blazing  with  anger.  Her  anger  was  not  a 
pose.  He  saw  to  his  horror  that  he  had  staked  all  on  a 
mad  chance  and  lost. 

He  stammered  something  incoherent  and  mopped  his 
brow  lamely. 

"I  suppose  it's  useless  for  me  to  say  I'm  sorry — " 

"Quite,"  she  said  with  cold  emphasis. 

"All  right  I  won't.  Because  I'm  not  sorry  I  did  it. 
145 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

I'm  only  sorry  you  resent  it.  I  love  you.  True  love  is 
half  madness.  I  won't  apologize.  If  I  must  die  for  that 
one  moment,  it's  worth  it." 

"There  can  be  nothing  more  between  us  after  this," 
she  said  evenly. 

He  bowed  in  silence. 

"Please  play  the  little  farce  of  polite  society  before 
my  father  and  mother  as  you  leave  tonight.  It's  the 
only  favor  I  ask  of  you." 

"I  understand,"  he  answered. 


CHAPTER  XY 

THE  perfection  with  which  Virginia  played  her 
part  in  the  little  drama  of  deception  at  their 
parting  was  a  new  source  of  surprise  and  anger 
to  Vassar.  Her  acting  was  consummate.  Neither  the 
children  nor  her  parents  could  suspect  for  a  moment 
that  there  had  been  the  slightest  break  in  their  relations. 

Self-respect  compelled  him  to  act  the  part  with  equal 
care  in  detail. 

The  old  soldier  had  grown  very  fond  of  Marya. 
He  held  her  in  his  arms  chattering  like  a  magpie. 

"Now  don't  you  go  back  on  me  when  you  get  to 
town  and  fail  to  take  that  cottage!"  he  protested. 

"Oh,  we're  coming  on  Tuesday — aren't  we,  Uncle 
John?"  she  cried. 

Virginia  watched  his  face.  He  caught  the  look  and 
answered  its  challenge  by  an  instant  reply. 

"Certainly,  dear.  Everything's  fixed.  I  can't  be 
with  you  much  but  grandpa'll  be  here  every  day." 

The  child  clapped  her  hands. 

"You  see"— 

"All  right,"  Holland  answered.  "I'll  meet  you  at 
147 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  station!  The  fact  is — "  his  voice  dropped  to  con- 
fidential tones — "between  you  and  me — I  haven't  any 
little  girl.  My  girl's  grown  clean  up  and  out  of  my 
world.  She's  going  on  a  wild  goose  chase  over  the 
country  and  leave  her  old  daddy  here  to  die  alone.  But 
you'll  be  my  little  girl,  won't  you,  honey?" 

Marya  slipped  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
whispered : 

"I'd  like  two  granddaddies.  I  never  had  but  one  you 
know — " 

Virginia  wondered  at  Vassar's  audacity  in  persisting 
in  the  plan  of  thrusting  himself  and  his  people  under 
her  nose.  She  had  thought  he  would  have  the  decency 
to  change  his  plans  now  that  any  further  association 
between  them  had  become  impossible.  She  listened  in 
vain  for  any  protest  on  his  part  against  the  plans  of 
happiness  between  her  father  and  his  little  niece.  His 
face  was  a  mask  of  polite  indifference. 

She  had  worked  herself  into  a  rage  when  he  extended 
his  hand  in  parting.  The  others  were  looking  or  he 
would  have  omitted  the  formality.  He  made  up  his 
mind  to  part  without  a  word. 

The  children  and  his  father  turned  to  enter  the  coach. 
Billy  was  saying  good-bye  to  Zonia  assuring  her  for  the 
tenth  time  that  he  would  drive  with  his  father  to  the 
train  for  them  on  Tuesday. 

148 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

With  the  touch  of  her  hand  Vassar's  angry  resolution 
melted.  Soul  and  body  was  fused  suddenly  into  a  re- 
sistless rush  of  tenderness.  If  she  felt  this  she  was 
complete  mistress  of  her  emotions.  There  was  no  sign. 

In  a  voice  of  studied  coldness  she  merely  said: 

"Good-bye." 

His  hand  closed  desperately  on  hers  in  spite  of  her 
purpose  to  withdraw  it  instantly. 

"I  won't  say  it,"  he  answered  fiercely.  "I  won't  give 
you  up.  You  haven't  treated  me  fairly.  I  won't  submit. 
I'm  coming  again — do  you  hear?" 

She  stared  at  him  a  moment  with  firmly  set  lips  and 
answered : 

"There  is  nothing  in  common  between  us,  Mr.  Cave- 
man. We  live  in  different  worlds.  We  were  born  in 
different  ages — " 

He  dropped  her  hand  and  sprang  to  the  platform 
of  the  moving  train  without  looking  back. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ARRIVING   at   Stuyvesant    Square,   Vassar   de- 
cided to  go  at  once  and  see  Angela's  husband. 
The  door  of  his  tiny  apartment  opened  on 
the  little  crooked  street  before  the  old  Armory.     He 
caught  the  gay  colors  of  Angela's  dress  at  the  window. 
She  was  leaning  far  out  over  the  flower  boxes,  and 
gesticulating  to  her  man  in  the  street  below. 

Benda,  the  center  of  a  group  of  children,  was  play- 
ing the  hand  organ  which  Pasquale  had  given  the  boy. 
The  kids  were  dancing. 

He  stopped  short  his  music  at  the  sight  of  his  leader, 
waved  the  children  aside  and  hurried  to  meet  him. 

"Ah,  you  come  so  soon,  signer!"  he  exclaimed.  "I 
am  glad.  Angela — she  tell  you?" 

"Yes.    What's  the  trouble?" 

"You  see  the  house  over  dere?" 

He  pointed  to  the  low  apartment  across  the  way. 

"Yes." 

"Well,  signor,  men  unload  and  swing  boxes — beeg — 
long  boxes  inside.  One  of  them  fell  and  brak — " 

He  stopped  and  looked  about. 
150 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"It  was  guns,  signer ! — all  bright,  new.  I  ask  them 
what  for  they  put  so  many  guns  in  the  old  house.  The 
boss  say  I  must  join  his  Black  Hand  Alliance — "  Benda 
laughed.  "I  tell  him  go  fell— 

"He  say  it's  war  and  I  die  unless  I  do — I  tell  him 
go  fell  two  times.  And  I  send  word  to  you,  signer. 
What  you  tink?" 

"I  don't  know.  I'll  find  the  owner  of  the  building 
and  tell  you.  Thanks,  Tommaso,"  he  added  cordially. 
"I  appreciate  your  confidence.  I'll  see  about  it." 

"Si,  si,  signor!" 

With  another  wave  of  his  hand  to  the  children  Benda 
resumed  his  concert. 

Vassar  walked  to  the  door  and  glanced  at  the  build- 
ing. There  was  nothing  to  mark  it  from  a  number  of 
dingy  structures  along  the  East  River.  A  speculator 
was  probably  buying  old  guns  from  our  government  for 
their  transfer  in  secret  to  the  agent  of  a  faction  in 
Mexico  or  South  America.  Naturally  the  trader  must 
use  the  utmost  caution  or  a  Secret  Service  man  would 
nip  his  plans  in  the  bud.  He  was  so  sure  of  the  ex- 
planation that  he  took  it  for  granted,  and  dismissed 
the  incident  from  his  mind. 

He  was  destined  to  recall  it  under  conditions  that 
would  not  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XVH 

VASSAR     plunged    next     day     into     his    fight. 
Waldron  had  moved  rapidly.     His  opponents 
had      already     nominated      an      Independent 
Democrat   of   foreign   birth,    a   Bohemian    of    ability, 
whom  he  knew  to  be   a  man   of  ambition   and   good 
address. 

,The  women  had  begun  a  house  to  house  canvass  of 
voters  and  the  number  of  fairy-tales  they  had  started 
for  the  purpose  of  undermining  his  position  and  in- 
fluence was  a  startling  revelation  of  their  skill  in  the 
art  of  lying. 

Virginia  Holland  was  booked  for  a  canvass  of  each 
election  district  the  last  week  in  October.  He  knew 
what  that  meant.  Waldron  had  held  his  trump  card 
for  the  supreme  moment. 

The  depths  of  vituperation,  mendacity  and  open  cor- 
ruption to  which  the  campaign  descended  on  the  part 
of  his  opponents  was  another  revelation  to  Vassar  of 
woman's  adaptability  to  practical  methods.  Never 
since  the  days  of  Tweed's  regime  had  the  East  Side 
seen  anything  that  approached  it. 
152 


THE  FALL  OF  'A  NATION 

He  steadfastly  refused  to  lower  his  standard  to  their 
level.  That  Virginia  Holland  knew  the  methods  which 
WaHron  had  adopted  was  inconceivable.  Vassar 
watched  the  approach  of  her  canvass  with  indifference. 
If  his  people  were  weak  enough  to  fall  for  Waldron 
and  his  crowd  of  hirelings,  he  had  no  desire  longer  to 
represent  the  district. 

He  ceased  to  worry  about  results.  He  foresaw  that 
his  majority  would  be  reduced.  He  decided  to  let  it 
go  at  that. 

The  gulf  which  separated  him  now  from  the  woman 
he  loved  was  apparently  tooTIeep  to  be  bridged.  On  the 
last  night  of  the  canvass  he  slipped  into  the  meeting  at 
which  she  spoke  just  to  hear  her  voice  again.  He  half 
hoped  that  she  might  say  something  so  false  and  pro- 
voking about  his  record  that  he  might  hate  her  for  it. 
Her  address  was  one  of  lofty  and  pure  appeal  for  the 
redemption  of  humanity  through  the  trained  spiritual 
power  of  womanhood.  She  even  expressed  her  regret  at 
the  necessity  of  opposing  a  man  of  the  type  of  John 
Vassar. 

A  hundred  of  Vassar's  partisans  were  present  and 
burst  into  a  fierce  round  of  applause  at  the  mention 
of  his  name.  He  watched  the  effect  with  Breathless  in- 
terest. The  cheers  were  utterly  unexpected  on  the 
part  of  the  speaker,  and  threw  her  for  the  moment  off 
153 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

her  balance.  She  blushed  and  smiled  and  hesitated, 
fumbling  for  words. 

Vassar's  heart  was  pounding  like  a  trip  hammer.  He 
could  have  taken  the  boys  in  his  arms  and  carried  them 
through  the  streets  for  that  cheer.  No  one  knew  of  his 
presence.  He  had  slipped  into  a  back  seat  in  the 
gallery  unrecognized  in  the  dim  light. 

Why  had  she  blushed  when  they  cheered  his  name? 
The  crowd,  of  course,  could  not  know  of  the  secret  be- 
tween them.  Would  she  have  blushed  from  the  mere 
confusion  of  mind  which  the  hostile  sentiment  of  her 
hearers  had  provoked?  It  was  possible.  And  yet  the 
faintest  hope  thrilled  his  heart  that  she  cared  for  him. 
He  had  played  the  fool  to  lose  his  head  that  day.  He 
realized  it  now.  Such  a  woman  could  not  be  taken 
by  storm.  Every  instinct  of  pride  and  intellectual 
dignity  had  resented  it. 

He  went  home  happy  over  the  incident  with  the 
memory  of  her  scarlet  cheeks  and  the  sweet  serious- 
ness of  her  voice  filling  his  soul.  His  managers 
brought  glowing  reports  of  the  situation  in  his  dis- 
trict. It  didn't  matter  if  he  had  a  chance  to  win  Vir- 
ginia. 

The  results  proved  that  his  guess  of  a  reduced 
majority  was  correct.  He  barely  pulled  through  by 
the  skin  of  his  teeth.  His  margin  was  a  paltry  seven 
154 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hundred  and  fifty.  At  the  election  two  years  before 
it  had  been  more  than  six  thousand. 

When  Congress  met  in  December  he  was  confronted 
with  a  situation  unique  in  the  history  of  the  Republic. 
A  lobby  had  gathered  in  Washington  so  distinguished  in 
personnel,  so  great  in  numbers,  so  aggressive  in  its  pur- 
pose to  control  legislation,  that  the  national  represent- 
atives were  afraid  of  their  shadows. 

The  avowed  aim  of  this  vast  gathering  was  the 
defeat  of  his  bill  for  the  adequate  defense  of  the 
nation.  The  outlines  of  his  measures  had  been 
published  and  had  the  unanimous  backing  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  Boards,  the  National  Security 
League  and  all  the  leaders  of  the  great  political 
parties. 

Both  of  our  ex-Presidents,  Roosevelt  and  Taft,  had 
endorsed  it  and  asked  for  its  adoption.  It  was  known 
that  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  approved  its  main 
features.  And  yet  its  chances  of  adoption  were  con- 
sidered extremely  doubtful. 

The  lobby,  which  had  swarmed  into  Washington, 
overran  its  hotels,  and  camped  in  the  corridors  of  the 
Capitol,  was  composed  of  a  class  of  men  and  women 
who  had  never  before  ventured  on  such  a  mission.  What 
they  lacked  of  experience  they  made  up  in  aggressive 
insolence — an  insolence  so  cocksure  of  itself  that  a 
155 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Congressman   rarely  ventured   from  the  floor   of  the 
Chamber  if  he  could  avoid  it. 

The  leaders  of  the  movement  were  apparently  acting 
under  the  orders  of  the  Reverend  A.  Cuthbert  Pike, 
President  of  the  Peace  Union.  Vassar  was  amazed  to 
find  that  this  Union  was  composed  of  more  than  six 
hundred  chartered  peace  societies.  He  had  supposed 
that  there  might  be  half  a  dozen  such  associations  in  the 
country.  To  be  suddenly  confronted  by  five  thousand 
delegates  representing  six  hundred  organizations  was 
the  shock  of  his  political  life.  But  one  society  alone, 
the  National  Security  League,  was  there  to  preach  the 
necessity  of  insurance  against  war  by  an  adequate  de- 
fense. 

Against  this  lone  organization  were  arrayed  in  a 
single  group  the  five  thousand  delegates  from  the  six 
hundred  peace  societies.  They  demanded  the  defeat  of 
any  bill  to  increase  our  armaments  in  any  way,  shape  or 
form.  Their  aim  was  the  ultimate  complete  disarma- 
ment of  every  fort  and  the  destruction  of  our  navy. 

In  co-operation  with  this  host  of  five  thousand 
ianatics  stood  the  Honorable  Plato  Barker  with  a 
personal  following  in  the  membership  of  Congress  as 
amazing  as  it  was  dangerous  to  the  future  of  the  Re- 
public. The  admirers  of  the  silver-tongued  orator 
labored  under  the  conviction  that  their  leader  had  been 
156 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

inspired  of  God  to  guide  the  destinies  of  America.  They 
believed  this  with  the  faith  of  children.  For  sixteen 
years  they  had  accepted  his  leadership  without  question 
and  his  word  was  the  law  of  their  life. 

Barker  was  opposed  to  the  launching  of  another  ship 
of  war,  or  the  mounting  of  another  gun  for  defense. 
He  was  the  uncompromising  champion  of  moral  suasion 
as  the  solution  of  all  international  troubles.  He  be- 
lieved that  an  eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius  could  be 
soothed  by  a  poultice  and  cured  permanently  by  an 
agreement  for  arbitration.  He  preached  this  doctrine 
in  season  and  out  of  season.  The  more  seriously  out  of 
season  the  occasion,  the  louder  he  preached  it. 

That  he  would  have  a  following  in  Congress  was 
early  developed  in  the  session.  Barker  was  not  only 
on  the  ground  daily;  his  headquarters  had  been  sup- 
plied with  unlimited  money  for  an  active  propaganda 
and  his  office  was  thronged  by  delegates  from  his  mass 
meetings  called  in  every  state  of  the  Union. 

The  Socialists  had  once  more  swamped  the  American 
labor  unions  with  their  missionaries  and  the  labor 
federations  were  arrayed  solidly  against  an  increase  of 
our  army  or  navy. 

But  by  far  the  most  serious  group  of  opponents  by 
whom  Vassar  was  confronted  were  the  United  Women 
Voters  of  America,  marshalled  under  the  leadership 
157 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

of  the  brilliant  young  Joan  of  Arc  of  the  Federated 
Clubs.  In  the  peculiar  alignment  of  factions  produced 
by  the  crisis  of  the  world  war  the  women  voters  held 
the  balance  of  power.  They  practically  controlled  the 
Western  states  while  the  fear  of  their  influence  domi- 
nated the  Middle  West  and  seriously  shaped  public 
opinion  in  the  East.  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and 
New  York  had  defeated  the  amendments  for  woman's 
suffrage,  yet  the  vote  polled  by  their  advocates  had 
been  so  large  the  defeat  was  practically  a  triumph  of 
their  principles. 

A  convention  of  five  hundred  delegates,  represent- 
atives of  the  women  voters,  had  been  called  to  decide 
on  the  casting  of  the  votes  of  their  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives. That  their  orders  would  be  obeyed  was 
a  foregone  conclusion.  To  refuse  meant  political 
suicide. 

The  thing  which  puzzled  Vassar  beyond  measure  was 
the  mysterious  unifying  power  somewhere  in  the 
shadows.  The  hand  of  this  unseen  master  of  ceremonies 
had  brought  these  strangely  incongruous  forces  to- 
gether in  a  harmony  so  perfect  that  they  spoke  and 
wrote  and  campaigned  as  one  man.  Behind  this  master 
hand  there  was  a  single  master  mind  tremendous  in 
grip,  baffling,  inscrutable,  always  alert,  always  there. 
That  Waldron  was  this  mysterious  force  he  suspected 
158 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

from  the  first.  On  the  day  he  was  booked  to  make  the 
final  address  in  closing  the  debate  on  his  bill,  the  banker 
boldly  appeared  in  the  open  as  the  responsible  leader 
of  the  movement  for  the  defeat  of  national  defense. 

Vassar,  with  a  sense  of  sickening  rage,  saw  him  in 
conference  with  Virginia  Holland  and  her  executive  com- 
mittee. They  held  their  little  preliminary  caucus  at 
the  door  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  if  to  in- 
sult him  with  a  notice  of  coming  defeat.  The  young 
leader  knew  that  if  there  were  yet  a  man  in  the  House 
who  could  be  reached  by  money,  Waldron  would  find 
him.  And  he  knew  that  there  were  some  who  had 
their  price. 

The  influence  of  such  a  man  in  a  free  democracy  was 
to  Vassar  a  cause  of  constant  grief  and  wonder.  That  he 
despised  the  principles  of  a  democratic  government  he 
scarcely  took  the  trouble  to  conceal.  His  pose  was  for 
higher  ends  than  party  gains  or  even  the  selfish  glory  of 
nation.  He  was  large,  his  vision  world-wide.  He 
pleaded  always  for  the  advancement  of  humanity.  His 
following  was  numerous  and  eminently  respectable. 
Vassar  had  never  for  one  moment  believed  in  Waldron's 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  American  democracy. 
That  he  would  form  a  monarchy  if  given  the  chance 
was  a  certainty.  One  of  his  hobbies  was  the  criminal 
extravagance  and  inefficiency  of  our  state  and  municipal 
159 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

governments  as  compared  to  the  imperial  kingdoms  of 
the  Old  World.  In  season  and  out  of  season  he  pro- 
claimed the  superiority  of  centralized  power  over  the 
ignorant,  slipshod  ways  of  the  Republic.  The  Em- 
peror of  Germany  and  the  German  ways  of  ruling  were 
his  models. 

To  accuse  Waldron  of  a  conspiracy  with  the  crowned 
heads  of  the  Old  World  would  be  received  with  scorn- 
ful incredulity.  And  yet  there  were  moments  in  his 
brooding  and  thinking  when  Vassar  felt  that  that 
was  the  only  rational  solution  of  the  man's  life 
and  character.  That  he  was  the  personal  friend  of 
three  crowned  heads  was  well  known.  That  he  was  in 
constant  consultation  with  the  ambassadors  of  a  dozen 
European  nations  was  also  well  known.  The  ex- 
planation of  this  fact,  however,  was  so  simple  and  plaus- 
ible that  no  suspicion  of  treachery  would  find  credence 
in  America.  His  bank  had  branch  establishments  in 
London,  Paris,  Berlin,  Petrograd,  Vienna,  Constan- 
tinople and  Rome. 

And  yet,  why  in  God's  name,  Vassar  kept  asking 
himself,  should  all  these  peace  societies  and  all  these 
labor  organizations  and  all  these  women's  clubs  move 
heaven  and  earth  in  unison  to  kill  this  one  measure  of 
defense,  and  leave  our  nation  at  the  mercy  of  any  first- 
class  European  power?  Their  sentimental  leanings 
160 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Were  against  arms  and  armaments — of  course.  But 
who  set  them  all  barking  at  the  same  moment?  Who 
had  kept  them  at  it  in  chorus  continuously  from  the 
first  throb  of  the  patriotic  impulse  to  put  ourselves  in 
readiness  to  defend  our  life?  Who  had  held  them  to- 
gether in  this  fierce  and  determined  assault  on  the 
Capitol  to  arouse  and  threaten  Congress?  No  such 
movement  could  be  caused  by  spontaneous  combustion. 
Such  an  agitation  against  patriotic  defense  could  not 
happen  by  accident.  JThe  world  war  could  not  have 
caused  it.  [The  great  war  should  have  been  the  one 
influence  to  have  had  precisely  the  opposite  effect.  The 
world  war  should  have  spoken  to  us  in  thunder  tones : 

"Remember  Belgium!  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  liberty!" 

Instead  of  this,  the  advocates  of  peace  suddenly  rose 
as  a  swarm  of  locusts  to  tell  us  that,  as  umbrellas  cause 
rain  so  guns  cause  war,  and  the  only  way  to  save  our- 
selves in  a  world  of  snarling,  maddened  wild  beasts  is 
to  lay  down  our  arms  and  appeal  to  their  reason !  This 
strange  crusade  to  make  the  richest  nation  of  the  world 
defenseless  was  no  accident.  The  movement  was  sinister. 
Vassar  felt  this  on  the  last  day  of  his  struggle  in  the 
House  with  increased  foreboding. 

He  rose  to  deliver  his  final  appeal  with  quivering 
heart.  His  eye  rested  on  Waldron's  stolid,  sneering 
161 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

face  in  the  gallery.  On  his  right  sat  Barker,  on  his 
left  Virginia  Holland. 

Every  seat  on  the  floor  and  in  the  galleries  was 
packed.  Every  foot  of  standing  room  above  and  below 
was  crowded.  A  solemn  hush  fell  on  the  throng  as  the 
young  leader  of  the  House  rose. 

He  began  his  address  in  low  tones  of  intense 
emotion : 

"Mr.  Speaker,  I  rise  to  give  to  this  House  my  solemn 
warning  that  on  the  fate  of  this  bill  for  the  defense  of 
the  nation  hangs  our  destiny.  I've  done  my  work. 
I've  fought  a  good  fight.  The  decision  is  in  your 
hands.  A  few  things  I  would  repeat  until  they  ring  their 
alarm  in  every  soul  within  the  sound  of  my  voice  to- 
day. 

"I  tell  you  with  the  certainty  of  positive  knowledge 
that  while  we  are  the  richest  nation  of  the  known 
world  we  are  the  least  prepared  to  defend  ourselves 
under  the  conditions  of  modern  war.  Our  navy  is  good 
— what  there  is  of  it.  But  if  it  is  inadequate,  it  is  of 
no  value  whatever.  I  tell  you  that  it  is  inadequate 
and  my  statement  is  backed  by  every  expert  in  the 
service.  If  we  were  attacked  tomorrow  by  any  nation 
of  Germany's  sea  power  our  ships  would  sink  to  their 
graves,  our  men  to  certain  death. 

"No  braver  men  walk  this  earth  than  ours.  They 
162 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

are  ready  to  die  for  their  country.  We  hare  no  right 
to  murder  them  for  this  reason.  If  they  die,  it  should 
be  to  some  purpose.  jWe  should  give  them  the  best 
weapons  on  earth  and  the  best  training.  They  have 
the  right  to  a  fair  chance  with  any  foe  they  face.  We 
have  a  mobile  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  with  which 
to  defend  a  hemisphere!  We  assert  our  guardianship 
of  all  America.  It  is  known  to  all  men  that  a  modern 
army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  landed  on 
our  shores  could  complete  the  conquest  of  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  in  twelve  days. 

"Our  friends  who  clamor  for  peace  in  a  world  at  war 
tell  us  that  an  attack  on  our  nation  is  a  possibility  too 
remote  for  discussion.  The  same  men  in  June,  1914, 
declared  that  war  in  Europe  was  a  physical  and 
psychological  impossibility.  Now  they  tell  us  with 
equal  solemnity  that  this  war,  which  they  declared  could 
never  be,  is  so  appalling  that  it  will  be  the  last.  They 
tell  us  that  the  world  will  now  (disarm  and  we  must  lead 
the  way! 

"If  the  world  disarms,  Europe  must  lead  the  way. 
We  are  already  practically  disarmed. 

"Who  in  Europe  will  dare  to  lead  in  such  a  move- 
ment ! 

"Will  Germany  disarm? 

"Will  she  at  this  late  hour  surrender  her  ambitions 
163 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

to  expand?  (VVill  she  sign  the  death  warrant  to  the 
aspirations  of  the  men  who  created  her  mighty  Em- 
pire? [Will  she  expose  her  eastern  frontier  to  the  raids 
of  Cossack  hordes? 

"Could  Russia  disarm? 

"Would  she  consent  to  risk  the  dismemberment  of  her 
vast  domain? 

"Could  England  with  her  empire  on  which  the  sun 
does  not  set — could  England  disarm  and  lay  her  centers 
of  civilization  open  to  the  attack  of  black  and  yellow 
millions? 

"To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it. 

"The  disarmament  of  the  modern  world  is  the  dream 
of  an  unbalanced  mind. 

"Take  any  group  of  nations.  If  the  Allies  win, 
would  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  agree  to  disarm  ? 
If  they  should  ever  tear  the  German  Empire  into  pieces 
could  they  stamp  out  the  fighting  soul  of  the  Germanic 
race? 

"If  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  win,  can  Eng- 
land, France,  Italy,  and  Russia  disarm  before  the 
menace  of  world  dominion? 

"Do  you  believe  that  out  of  the  vast  horror  of 
this  war  a  compact  of  international  peace  may  be 
signed  by  all  nations? 

"Let  us  remind  you  that  the  heart  of  Europe  is  aristo- 
164 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

cratic  and  imperial.  Their  rulers  hate  democracy  as 
the  devil  hates  holy  water.  The  lion  and  the  lamb 
cannot  yet  lie  down  together — except  the  lamb  be  inside 
the  lion. 

"This  nation  is  the  butt  of  ridicule,  jibes,  caricatures 
and  coarse  jests  of  the  aristocrats  of  the  Old  World. 
Our  government  and  our  people  are  cordially  loathed. 

"International  peace  can  rest  only  on  international 
demo«racy.  The  great  war  has  brought  us  face  to  face 
with  grim  realities.  We  must  see  the  thing  that  is — 
not  the  thing  our  fancy  says  ought  to  be. 

"Belgium  has  taught  us  that  the  only  scrap  of  paper 
we  can  be  sure  of  is  one  backed  by  millions  of  stout 
hearts  with  guns  in  their  hands,  aeroplanes  above  their 
heads,  ships  under  the  seas  and  afloat  and  big  black 
steel  eyes  high  on  their  shores  bent  seaward. 

"Men  of  America!  I  call  you  from  your  sleep  of 
fancied  safety !  The  might  of  kings  is  knocking  at  your 
doors  demanding  that  you  give  a  reason  for  your 
existence!  If  you  are  worthy  to  live  you  will  prove 
it  by  defending  your  homes  and  your  flag.  If  you 
are  not  worth  saving,  your  masters  will  make  your 
children  their  servants. 

"The  fate  of  a  nation  is  in  your  hands.  The  sea 
is  no  more.  The  world  has  become  a  whispering 
gallery.  And  such  a  world  cannot  remain  half  slave 
165 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

and  half  free.  It  is  for  you  to  decide  whether  your 
half  shall  sink  again  into  the  abyss  of  centuries  of 
human  martyrdom  and  human  tyranny. 

"I  warn  you  that  the  fight  between  autocracy  and 
democracy  has  just  begun.  Poland  attempted  to 
establish  a  free  commonwealth  in  Central  Europe.  She 
was  ground  to  powder  between  imperial  powers.  [The 
one  big  issue  in  this  world  today  is  the  might  of 
kings  against  the  liberties  of  the  people.  Never  be- 
fore in  human  history  has  imperial  power  been  so  firmly 
entrenched.  And  the  rulers  of  Europe  know  that 
sooner  or  later  they  must  crush  Amercan  democracy 
or  be  crushed  by  its  reflex  influence." 

Vassar  ceased  to  speak  and  resumed  his  seat  amid 
a  silence  that  was  painful.  His  eloquence  had  swept 
the  House  with  tremendous  force.  So  intense  was  the 
spell  that  a  demonstration  of  any  kind  was  impossible. 
A  murmur  of  relief  rippled  the  crowd  and  the  hum  of 
whispered  comment  at  last  broke  the  tension. 

[Waldron's  keen  cold  eye  had  seen  the  effect  of  the 
young  leader's  appeal.  He  lost  no  time  in  taking 
measures  ^  to  neutralize  its  influence. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

THE  caucus  of  the  delegates  of  the  Women's  Con- 
vention was  booked  to  meet  at  six  o'clock.  The 
House  would  hold  a  night  session  and  the  vote 
on  the  Defense  Bill  would  be  called  between  ten  and 
eleven,  f 

To  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  influence  from 
Vassar's  speech  reaching  the  caucus,  Waldron  suc- 
ceeded in  changing  the  hour  to  three  o'clock.  He 
would  prolong  the  discussion  until  six  and  deliver  their 
orders  to  the  members  of  Congress  in  ample  time. 

Vassar  saw  him  whispering  in  earnest  conference 
with  Barker  and  Virginia,  guessed  instinctively  a 
change  of  program  and  in  ten  minutes  his  secretary 
had  confirmed  his  suspicions « 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  He  made  up  his  mind 
instantly  to  throw  pride  to  the  winds  and  make  a  per- 
sonal appeal  to  the  one  woman  whose  influence  in  the 
crisis  could  dominate  the  councils  of  the  opposition. 

He  called  a  cab  and  reached  the  Willard  at  the 
moment  Barker  was  handing  Virginia  from  Waldron's 


167 


,  THE  F ALE  OF  A  NATION 

An  instant  of  hesitating  doubt  swept  him  as  he 
thought  of  the  possibility  of  a  public  refusal  to  meet 
or  confer.  He  couldn't  believe  she  would  be  so  un- 
gracious. He  must  risk  it.  The  situation  was  too 
critical  to  stand  on  ceremony. 

'He  raised  his  hat  and  bowed  witH  awkward  excite- 
Jnent/ 

^'May'I  have  a  few  minutes  of  your  time,  Miss 
Holland?"  he  asked. 

She  blushed,  hesitated  and  answered  nervously. 

"Certainly,  Mr.  Congressman.  Your  speech  was 
eloquent  but  unconvincing.  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  style  if  I  can't  agree  with  [your  conclusions." 

Barker  laughed  heartily  and  [Waldron's  face  remained 
a  stolid  mask. 

"You  will  excuse  me,  gentlemen,"  she  said  to  her 
associates.  "I'll  see  you  in  ten  minutes — '" 

She  paused  and  smiled  politely  to  Vassar: 

"The  ladies'  parlor?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  leading  the  way  to  the  elevator, 
and  in  two  minutes  faced  her  with  his  hands  tightly 
gripped  behind  his  back,  his  eyes  lighted  by  the  fires  of 
tense  emotion. 

Her  control  was  perfect,  if  she  felt  any  unusual  stir 
of  feeling.     He  marvelled  at  her  composure.     He  had 
vaguely   hoped   this    first    meeting    after    their   break 
168 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

might  lead  to  a  reconciliation.  But  her  bearing  was 
as  coldly  impersonal  as  if  he  were  a  book  agent  trying 
to  sell  her  a  set  of  ancient  histories. 

He  throttled  a  mad  impulse  to  tell  her  again  that 
he  had  loved  her  with  every  beat  of  his  heart  every 
moment  since  they  had  parted. 

"You  know,  of  course,"  he  began,  "that  in  this 
crisis  you  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  a  struggle 
that  may  decide  the  destiny  of  America?" 

"I  have  been  told  so—" 

"It  is  so,"  he  rushed  on,  "and  I've  come  to 
you  for  a  last  appeal  to  save  the  nation  from  the 
appalling  danger  her  defenseless  condition  will  pre- 
sent at  the  close  of  this  war.  My  bill  will  place 
us  beyond  the  danger  line.  If  we  are  reasonably 
ready  for  defense  no  great  power  will  dare  to  attack 
us—" 

"Preparation  did  not  prevent  the  war  of  the  twelve 
nations — "  she  interrupted  sharply. 

"Certainly  not.  Fire  engines  do  not  prevent  fires, 
but  our  organized  fire  department  can  and  does  pre- 
vent the  burning  of  the  whole  city.  Preparation  in 
Europe  did  not  prevent  war.  But  it  did  save  France 
from  annihilation.  It  did  save  Germany  from  invasion. 
It  did  save  England  from  death.  *  The  lack  of  it 
snuffed  out  the  life  of  Belgium.  I  only  ask  that  a  mil- 
169 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

lion  of  our  boys  shall  be  taught  to  hold  a  rifle  on  a 
mark  and  shoot  straight — " 

"And  that  mark  a  human  body  over  whose  cradle  a 
mother  bent  in  love.  I  do  not  believe  in  murder — " 

"Neither  do  I !  I'm  trying  to  prevent  it.  Can't  you 
see  this?  Our  fathers  shot  straight  or  this  Republic 
had  never  been  born.  Your  father  shot  straight  or  the 
Union  could  never  have  been  preserved.  Conflict  is  the 
law  of  progress.  I  didn't  make  this  so,  but  it's  true, 
and  we  must  face  the  truth.  You  are  the  daughter  of 
a  soldier.  I  beg  of  you  for  the  love  of  God  and  country 
to  save  our  boys  from  butchery,  our  daughters  from 
outrage  and  our  cities  from  devastation!" 

"I'm  going  to  do  exactly  that  by  doing  my  level  best 
to  prevent  all  war — " 

Vassar  lifted  his  hand  and  she  saw  that  it  was  trem- 
bling violently. 

"Your  decision  is  final?"  he  asked. 

"Absolutely—" 

"Then  all  I  can  say  is,"  he  responded,  "may  God 
save  you  from  ever  seeing  the  vision  my  soul  has 
dreamed  today!" 

She  smiled  graciously  in  response  to  his  evident  suf- 
fering. 

"I  shall  not  see  it,"  was  the  firm  answer.  "Your 
fears  are  groundless.  I  will  be  a  delegate  to  the  first 
170 


THE  FALL  OF,  A  NATION 

Parliament  of  Man,  the  Federation  of  the  World  which 
this  war  will  create." 

He  turned  to  go,  paused,  and  slowly  asked : 
"And  I  may  not  hope  to  see  you  occasionally?    You 
know  that  I  love  you  always,  right  or  wrong — " 

She  shook  her  head  and  gazed  out  of  the  window 
for  a  moment  on  the  majestic  shaft  of  the  Washington 
Monument  white  and  luminous  against  the  azure  skies 
of  Virginia.  Her  voice  was  tender,  dreamlike,  im- 
personal. 

"Our  lives  were  never  quite  so  far  apart  as  now — " 
He  turned  abruptly  and  left  her,  the  sense  of  tragic 
failure  crushing  his  heart. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

WOMAN'S  political  power  was  hurled  solidly 
against  an  increase  of  armaments,  and 
Yassar's  Bill  for  National  Defense  was  de- 
feated. 

Waldron's  triumph  was  complete.  His  lawyers  drew 
the  compromise  measure  which  Congress  was  permitted 
to  pass  a  few  weeks  later.  It  made  provision  for  a 
modest  increase  of  the  Army,  Navy  and  the  National 
Guard. 

The  banker's  newspapers  led  the  chorus  of  approval 
of  this  absurd  program  and  the  nation  was  con- 
gratulated on  its  happy  deliverance  from  the  threatened 
curse  of  militarism. 

Waldron  chartered  two  trains  and  took  the  entire 
delegation  of  five  hundred  women  members  of  the  Con- 
vention as  his  guests.  He  entertained  them  for  a  week 
at  the  best  hotels  and  closed  the  celebration  with  a 
banquet  at  his  palatial  home  in  honor  of  Virginia  Hol- 
land. 

At  the  close  of  the  dinner  when  the  last  speaker  had 
finished  a  brilliant  panegyric  of  praise  for  the  modern 
172 


THE  FALL  OF,  A  NATION 

Joan  of  Arc,  the  master  of  the  'feas?  whispered  in  her 
ear; 

"Will  you  remain  a  few  minutes  when  the  others  Eav6 
gone?  I've  something  to  tell  you." 

She  nodded  her  consent  and  Waldron  hurried  their 
departure. 

She  wondered  vaguely  what  new  scheme  his  fertile 
brain  had  hatched,  and  followed  him  into  the  dimly 
lighted  conservatory  without  a  suspicion  of  the  sen- 
sation he  was  about  to  spring.  In  his  manner  there  was 
not  the  slightest  trace  of  excitement.  He  found  a  seat 
overlooking  an  entrancing  view  of  the  cold,  moonlit 
river  below,  and  began  the  conversation  in  the  most 
matter  of  fact  way. 

"I  have  a  big  announcement  to  make  to  you,  Miss 
Holland,"  be  began  evenly. 

"Indeed?" 

"My  life  work  is  rapidly  reaching  its  consummation. 
You  like  this  place?" 

He  adjusted  his  glasses  and  waved  his  hand  com- 
prehensively. The  gesture  took  in  the  house,  the 
grounds,  the  yacht,  the  river  and  possibly  the  city. 

Virginia  started  to  the  apparently  irrelevant  ques- 
tion. In  her  surprise  she  forgot  to  answer^ 

"You  like  it?"  he  repeated. 

"Your  place,"  she  stammered,  "why,  yes,  01  course, 
173 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

it's  Beautiful,  and  I  think  the  Banquet'  a  triumph  of 
generosity.  Our  leaders  will  never  cease  sounding  your 
praises.  I  must  say  that  you're  a  master  politician. 
I  wonder  that  you  became  a  banker — " 

Waldron's  cold  smile  thawed  into  something  like 
geniality. 

"I  had  good  reasons  for  that  choice,  you  may  rest 
assured.  The  man  who  does  things,  Miss  Holland, 
leaves  nothing  to  chance  which  his  will  may  determine. 
It  was  not  by  accident  that  I  became  a  multimillionaire. 
It  was  necessary — " 

He  stopped  abruptly  and  fixed  her  with  his  steel-gray 
eyes. 

"The  triumph  of  my  life  work  is  in  sight.  I  may 
breathe  freely  for  the  first  time.  I  have  chosen  you 
to  be  the  queen  of  this  house.  I  offer  you  my  hand  in 
marriage — " 

Virginia  caught  her  breath  in  genuine  amazement. 
Never  before  had  he  even  hinted  that  the  thought  of 
marriage  had  entered  his  imagination.  He  had  made 
his  proposal  with  a  cocksure  insolence  which  assumed 
that  the  honor  was  so  high  the  girl  had  not  been  born 
who  could  refuse  it. 

A  little  angry  laugh  all  but  escaped  before  she  re- 
pressed it.     The  situation  was  dramatic.     She  would 
play  with  him  a  moment — and  test  his  sense  of  humor. 
174 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You  honor  me  beyond  my  deserts,  Mr.  Waldron," 
she  answered  naively. 

"I  must  differ  with  you,"  he  answered  briskly.  "On 
the  other  hand  I  am  sure  there  is  not  a  woman  in 
America  who  could  grace  these  halls  with  your  poise, 
your  brilliance,  your  beauty.  The  home  I  have  built 
is  worthy  of  you — yes.  That  you  will  fill  the  high 
position  to  which  I  have  called  you  with  dignity  and 
grace  I  am  sure — " 

She  lifted  her  hand  with  a  movement  of  impatience — 
a  mischievous  smile  playing  about  her  mouth. 

"But  you  haven't  told  me  that  you  love  me — "  she 
protested. 

"You  are  a  modern  woman.  You  have  outgrown 
the  forms  of  the  past — is  it  necessary  to  repeat  the 
formula?  Can't  you  take  that  much  for  granted  in 
the  offer  of  my  hand?" 

Virginia  shook  her  head. 

"I've  traveled  pretty  far  from  the  old  ways,  I  know," 
she  admitted.  "I  can't  give  up  all  the  past.  I've  an  idea 
that  a  man  and  woman  should  love  before  marriage — " 

"If  the  centuries  have  taught  Europe  anything,"  he 
argued,  "it  is  that  reason,  not  passion,  should  determine 
marriage.  I  hold  to  the  wisdom  of  the  ages  on  the 
point.  I  ask  you  to  be  my  wife.  Don't  joke.  You 
cannot  refuse  me." 

175 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Virginia  rose  with  decision. 

"But  I  do  refuse  you." 

The  banker  was  too  surprised  to  speak  for  a 
moment.  It  was  incredible.  That  a  girl  with  a  paltry 
dowry  of  a  hundred  thousand  should  refuse  his  offer 
of  millions,  his  palace  in  New  York,  his  estates  in 
Europe — a  feeling  of  blind  rage  choked  him. 

"You  cannot  mean  it?"  his  cold  voice  clicked. 

"Such  high  honor  is  not  for  me,"  she  firmly  re- 
plied. "I  do  not  intend  to  marry — " 

He  studied  her  with  keen  eyes,  rubbed  his  glasses 
and  readjusted  them;  again. 

"You  will  accept  the  position  I  offer  without  mar- 
riage?" he  asked  eagerly. 

Her  face  went  white  and  her  body  stiffened. 

"If  you  will  call  the  car  please — I  will  go — " 

Waldron's  heels  came  together  with  a  sharp  military 
click,  his  big  neck  )5ent  in  the  slightest  bow,  and  he 
led  the  way  into  the  hall  without  a  word. 

He  made  no  pretense  at  politeness  or  apology.  He 
left  her  to  his  servants  and  mounted  the  grand  stairway 
in  a  tumult  of  blind  rage. 


CHAPTER  XX 

FOR    two    years    the    nation    drifted    without    a 
rational  policy  of  defense,  while  the  world  war 
continued  to  drench  the  earth  in  blood.     The 
combination   of   forces   represented   by  Waldron  had 
succeeded  in  lulling  the  people  into  a  sense  of  perfect 
security.     We  had  always  been  lucky.     A  faith  that 
God  watched  over  children  and  our  Republic  had  become 
one  of  the  first  articles  of  our  creed. 

John  Vassar  became  an  officer  in  the  National 
Security  League  and  attempted  to  extend  its  organiza- 
tion into  every  election  district  of  the  Union,  For 
two  years  he  had  given  himself  body  and  soul  to  the 
task.  At  every  turn  he  found  an  organized  and  mili- 
tant opposition.  They  had  money  to  spend  and  they 
had  leaders  who  knew  how  to  fight. 

In  spite  of  his  hatred  of  Waldron  he  was  compelled 
to  acknowledge  his  genius  for  leadership,  and  the  in- 
flexible quality  of  his  will.  Within  a  week  of  the  date 
his  Security  League  was  organized  in  a  district,  a  fight- 
ing "peace"  organization  appeared  overnight  to  de- 
stroy his  work. 

177 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  optimism  of  the  American  people  was  the  solid 
rock  against  which  his  hopes  were  constantly  dashed. 

He  ignored  the  fact  that  Virginia  Holland  was  the 
most  eloquent  and  dangerous  opponent  of  his  prop- 
aganda. It  was  the  irony  of  fate  that  he  should 
feel  it  his  solemn  duty  to  devote  every  energy  of  his 
life  to  combating  the  cause  for  which  she  stood.  It 
was  the  will  of  God.  He  accepted  it  now  in  dumb  sub- 
mission. 

In  the  midst  of  his  campaign  for  Congressmen 
pledged  to  national  defense,  the  great  war  suddenly 
collapsed  and  the  professional  peace  advocates  filled 
the  world  with  the  tumult  of  their  rejoicing. 

It  was  useless  to  argue.  The  danger  had  passed. 
Men  refused  to  listen.  Vassar  was  regarded  with  a 
mild  sort  of  pity. 

The  first  rush  of  events  were  all  with  his  enemies 
and  critics.  The  war  had  been  fought  to  an  impassable 
deadlock. 

Germany  entrenched  had  proven  invincible  against 
the  offensive  assaults  of  the  Allies.  The  Allies  were 
equally  impotent  to  achieve  an  aggressive  victory. 
When  the  conviction  grew  into  practical  certainty  that 
the  struggle  might  last  for  ten  years,  the  German  Em- 
peror gave  the  hint  to  the  Pope.  The  Pope  sounded 
the  warring  nations  and  an  armistice  was  arranged. 
178 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Embodied  in  this  agreement  to  suspend  hostilities  for 
thirty  days  was  the  startling  announcement  that  the 
nations  at  war,  desiring  to  provide  against  the  recur- 
rence of  so  terrible  and  costly  an  experiment  as  the 
struggle  just  ending,  had  further  agreed  to  meet  at 
The  Hague  in  the  first  Parliament  of  Man  and  establish 
the  Federation  of  the  World ! 

Waldron  proclaimed  this  achievement  the  greatest 
step  in  human  progress  since  the  dawn  of  history.  He 
claimed  also  that  his  newspapers  and  his  associates 
in  their  fight  against  armaments  had  won  this  victory. 
He  announced  the  dawn  of  the  new  era  of  universal 
peace  and  good  will  among  men. 

John  Vassar  was  the  most  thoroughly  discredited 
statesman  in  the  American  Congress.  His  hobby  was 
the  butt  of  ridicule.  Woman's  suffrage  swept  the 
northern  section  of  the  eastern  seaboard  in  every  state 
which  held  an  election  in  November. 

The  Parliament  of  Man  met  at  The  Hague.  The 
preliminary  session  was  composed  of  the  rulers  of  the 
leading  states,  nations  and  empires  of  the  world. 

Through  the  influence  of  Japan,  the  four  hundred 
millions  of  China  were  excluded. 

It  was  well  known  in  the  inner  councils  of  the  great 
powers  of  Europe  that  the  real  reason  for  her  ex- 
clusion was  the  avowed  purpose  of  the  rulers  of 
179 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Europe  and  Japan  to  divide  the  vast  domain  of  the 
Orient  into  crown  dependencies  and  reserve  them  for 
future  exploitation. 

Their  scholars  had  •  winked  gravely  at  the  charge  of 
a  lack  of  civilization.  What  they  meant  was  a  lack  of 
the  weapons  of  offense  and  defense.  China  was  tthe 
center  of  art  and  learning  when  America  was  an  un- 
trodden .wilderness  and  the  fathers  of  the  kings  of 
Europe  were  cracking  cocoanuts  and  hickory  nuts  in 
the  woods  with  monkeys.  China  had  lost  the  art  of 
shooting  straight — that  was  .all.  India  had  lost  it  too 
and  her  three  hundred  millions  were  not  even  permitted 
the  courtesy  of  representation  in  the  person  of  an  alien 
viceroy.  A  handful  of  Englishmen  had  ruled  her  mil- 
lions for  a  century.  India  had  ceased  to  exist  as  a 
nation. 

One-half  the  human  race  were  thus  excluded  at  the 
first  session  of  the  Committee. 

When  the  roll  was  finally  called,  each  nation  answered 
in  alphabetical  order,  its  ruler  advanced  and  took  the 
seat  assigned  amid  the  cheers  of  the  gallery.  The  Pres- 
ident of  Argentina,  the  Emperor  of  Austra-Hungary, 
the  King  of  Belgium,  the  President  of  Brazil,  the  King 
of  Bulgaria,  the  President  of  Chile,  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, the  President  of  France,  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, and  King  of  Prussia, — and  with  him  the  King  of 
180 


THE  FALL  OF  'A  NATION 

Bavaria,  the  King  of  Saxony,  the  King  of  Wurtemburg, 
the  Duke  of  Anhalt,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  the  Grand  Duke 
of  Oldenburg,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Altenberg,  the  Duke 
of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Mein- 
ingen,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar,  the  Prince 
of  Weldeck, — the  King  of  Great  Britain  and  Emperor 
of  India,  the  King  of  Greece,  the  King  of  Italy,  the 
Mikado  of  Japan,  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Luxembourg, 
the  President  of  Mexico,  the  Queen  of  the  Netherlands, 
the  King  of  Norway,  the  President  of  Portugal, 
the  King  of  Roumania,  the  Tzar  of  Russia,  the 
King  of  Servia,  the  King  of  Spain,  the  King  of 
Sweden,  the  President  of  Switzerland,  the  Sultan  of 
.Turkey  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Virginia  Holland  saw  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
foremost  republic  of  the  world  answer  to  the  last  name 
called  on  the  roll  and  take  his  seat  beside  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey. 

The  minor  republics  of  South  and  Central  America 
had  all  been  excluded  by  the  Committee  on  Credentials 
as  unfitted  either  in  the  age  of  their  governments,  or 
their  wealth,  population  and  power  for  seats  in  this 
august  assembly.  Only  Argentina,  Brazil  and  Chile 
181 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

from  South  America,  and  Mexico  from  Central  America 
were  allowed  seats. 

The  principle  of  monarchy  was  represented  by 
thirty- four  reigning  emperors,  kings,  princes  iand 
dukes;  the  principle  of  democracy  by  eight  presidents. 
The  first  article  on  which  the  organization  agreed  was 
the  reservation  by  each  of  the  full  rights  of  sovereignty 
with  the  right  to  withdraw  at  any  moment  if  conditions 
arose  which  were  deemed  intolerable. 

To  find  a  working  basis  of  development,  therefore,  it 
was  not  merely  necessary  to  obtain  a  majority  vote, 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  vote  should  be 
unanimous,  otherwise  each  decision  would  cause  the 
loss  of  one  or  more  members  of  the  Federation. 

Queen  Wilhelmina,  of  the  Netherlands,  the  only  full- 
fledged  iwoman  sovereign  was  unanimously  elected  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  assembly. 

The  women  representatives  of  the  suffrage  states  of 
the  American  Union  were  admitted  to  the  gallery  as 
spectators.  They  rose  en  mlasse  and  cheered  when 
the  gracious  Queen  ascended  the  dais  and  rapped  for 
order. 

They  kept  up  the  demonstration  until  the  Emperor 

of  Germany  became  so  enraged  that  on  consultation 

with  the  Emperors  of  Austria-Hungary  and  the  Tzar 

of  Russia,  the  sergeant-at-arms  was  ordered  to  clear 

182 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  women's  gallery.     The  American  women  continued 
their  cheers  in  the  streets  until  dispersed  by  the  police. 
For  the  first  time  in  her  career  Virginia  Holland 
lost  patience  with  her  associates.     She  was  in  no  mood 
to  shout  for  royalty,  either  in  trousers,  knickerbockers 
or  skirts.     Her  keen  intelligence  had  caught  the  first 
breath  of  a  deep  and  fierce  hostility  to  the  land  of 
her  birth.     She  had  watched  the  growing  isolation  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  with  slowly  rising 
wrath.     But  a  single  member  of  the  august  body  had 
agreed  with  him  on  everything.    The  President  of  Swit- 
zerland alone  appeared  to  have   anything  in  common 
with  our  Chief  Magistrate.    Even  the  French  President 
appeared  to  have  been  reared  in  the  school  of  monarchy 
in  spite  of  the  form  of  his  government.     The  President 
of  little  Portugal  was  too  timid  to  express  an  opinion. 
And  the  four  presidents  of  South  and  Central  America 
were  the  social  lions  of  royalty  from  the  day  the  as- 
sembly had  gathered  in  an  informal  greeting  in  the 
Palace  of  Peace.    The  South  Americans  had  been  wined 
and  dined,  feted  and  petted  until  they  had  lost  their 
heads.    They  treated  the  President  of  the  United  States 
not  only  with  indifference,  but  in  the  joy  over  their 
triumphant  reception  had  begun  to  openly  voice  their 
contempt. 

,The  President  of  the  United  States  accepted  the  sit- 
183 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

uation  in  dignified  silence.  The  Parliament  of  Man 
was  less  than  one  day  old  before  he  realized  that  he 
was  a  single  good-natured  St.  Bernard  dog  in  a  cage 
of  Royal  Bengal  tigers.  How  long  his  position  would 
remain  tolerable  he  could  not  as  yet  judge.  As  a 
Southern-born  white  man  he  rejoiced  that  the  full 
right  of  secession  had  been  firmly  established  in  this 
Union ! 

He  composed  his  soul  in  patience. 
The  first  three  days  were  consumed  in  congratula- 
tions and  harmless  flights  of  oratory.  The  kings  had 
never  had  such  a  chance  before  to  indulge  in  declama- 
tion. They  were  like  a  crowd  of  high-school  boys  on 
a  picnic.  They  all  wished  to  talk  at  one  time  and  each 
apparently  had  a  desire  to  consume  the  whole  time. 
The  smaller  the  kingdom,  the  louder  the  voice  of  the 
king. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  Parliament  got  down  to  busi- 
ness. The  treaty  of  peace  which  closed  the  great  war 
had  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  belligerent  nations. 
They  were  practically  identical  with  the  status  preced- 
ing the  struggle. 

The  Parliament  unanimously  reaffirmed  the  decision 
of  this  treaty  and  fixed  the  boundaries  for  all  time. 

The  partition  of  China  was  immediately  raised  by 
Japan  and  again  the  United  States  of  America  and 
184 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Switzerland  alone  stood  out  for  the  rights  of  400,000,- 
000  men  of  the  yellow  race. 

France  and  Portugal,  Brazil,  Chile,  Argentina  and 
Mexico  sided  with  the  royalist  spoilers  against  our  pro- 
test. 

China  was  divided  into  spheres  of  influence  by  a  vote 
of  forty  against  two.  Both  the  United  States  and 
Switzerland  registered  their  protest  in  writing  and  re- 
corded their  possible  secession. 

The  continent  of  Africa  was  next  divided  by  the  same 
recorded  vote  forty  against  two. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  rose  from  his 
uncomfortable  seat  beside  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  and 
was  recognized  by  the  presiding  Queen  in  a  silence  that 
was  deathlike. 

"With  the  permission  of  your  Majesty,"  he  began 
gravely,  "I  wish  to  introduce  at  once  the  following 
resolutions."  He  calmly  adjusted  his  glasses  and  read: 

"Resolved:  That  the  Parliament  of  Man  recognize 
the  principle  that  a  people  shall  have  the  right  to  main- 
tain the  form  of  government  which  they  may  choose 
consistent  with  the  laws  of  civilization.  That  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere,  comprising  the  Americas,  have  chosen 
the  form  of  free  democracy.  That  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine shall  therefore  be  affirmed  as  the  second  basic 
principle  on  which  the  Federation  of  the  World  shall 
185 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

be  established,  and  that  the  royal  rulers  unanimously 
agree  that  their  standards  shall  never  be  lifted  on  the 
continents  of  North  or  South  America." 

The  sensation  could  not  have  been  greater  had  an 
anarchist's  bomb  exploded  beneath  the  presiding  Queen. 

A  babel  of  angry  protests  broke  forth  from  the 
thirty-three  royal  and  imperial  rulers.  France  and 
Portugal  remained  silent  and  distressed.  Brazil,  alone, 
of  the  South  American  republics,  raised  a  voice  in 
support  of  the  proposition.  Even  Switzerland  smiled 
skeptically.  Argentina,  Chile  and  Mexico  joined  the 
pandemonium  of  abuse  with  which  the  crowned  rulers 
of  the  world  received  the  first  American  tender  of 
principle. 

The  session  ended  in  confusion  bordering  on  riot. 
In  vain  the  gracious  Queen  attempted  to  restore  order. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  stood  with  folded 
arms  and  watched  the  indignant  sovereigns  sweep  their 
robes  about  their  trembling  figures  and  stalk  from  the 
Palace. 

A  caucus  of  imperial  rulers  was  held  at  which  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  presided.  It  was  unanimously 
resolved  that  the  proposition  of  the  United  States  was 
an  insult  to  every  monarch  of  the  world  and  in  the 
interests  of  peace  and  progress  he  was  asked  to  with- 
draw it, 

186 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Our  President  stood  his  ground,  refused  to  retreat 
an  inch  and  demanded  a  hearing.  His  demand  was 
refused  by  a  strict  division  of  monarchy  against  de- 
mocracy, thirty-three  imperial  rulers  casting  their 
votes  solidly  against  the  eight  presidents. 

The  moment  this  vote  was  announced,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  seized  his  hat  and  started  to  leave 
the  chamber.  The  South  Americans  crowded  around 
him  and  begged  him  to  stay.  The  little  President  of 
Chile,  the  fighting  cock  of  the  South  Pacific,  led  the 
chorus  of  appeal. 

"Stay  with  us,"  he  cried,  "and  I  promise  to  pour  oil 
on  the  troubled  waters.  I  have  a  compromise  which 
will  be  unanimously  accepted.  I  have  conferred  with 
the  three  great  emperors  and  they  have  assured  me 
of  their  support." 

Our  President  smiled  incredulously  but  resumed  his 
seat. 

Chile  declared  that  South  America  had  always 
scorned  the  assumptions  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  The 
monarchs  cheered.  He  declared  that  the  nations  of 
the  South  no  longer  needed  or  desired  the  protection 
of  the  United  States.  They  sought  the  good  will  of 
all  men.  They  feared  invasion  by  none.  He  proposed 
an  adjournment  of  six  months  in  order  that  a  Pan- 
American  Congress  representing  all  interests  might 
187 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

meet  in  Washington  and  decide  this  issue  for  them- 
selves. Their  decision  could  then  be  reported  to  the 
Parliament  of  Man. 

His  suggestion  was  unanimously  adopted  and  the 
Parliament  successfully  weathered  its  first  storm  by 
adjourning  for  six  months. 

Again  the  world  rang  with  the  shouts  of  the  orators 
of  peace.  A  beginning  had  actually  been  made  in  the 
new  science  of  war  prevention.  The  Appeal  to  Reason 
had  triumphed. 

Waldron  remained  a  day  to  congratulate  his  friends 
among  the  crowned  heads  and  hurried  home  to  organize 
a  great  Jubilee  to  celebrate  this  meeting  of  the  Pan- 
American  Congress  and  hail  its  outcome  as  the  first 
fruits  of  the  reign  of  universal  peace. 

Virginia  Holland  returned  to  her  home  with  a  great 
fear  slowly  shaping  itself  in  her  heart. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  outcome  of  the  First  Parliament  of  Man 
was  hailed  by  the  professional  peace-makers 
as  the  sublimest  achievement  of  the  ages.     A 
way  had  been  found  at  last  to  banish  war.    The  dream 
of  the  poet  had  been  fulfilled.    They  called  on  all  men 
to  beat  their  guns  into  plowshares,  their  swords  into 
pruning-hooks.    They  proclaimed  the  end  of  force,  the 
dawn  of  the  Age  of  Reason. 

Our  nation  once  more  demonstrated  its  love  for  the 
orator  who  preaches  smooth  things.  [The  Honorable 
Plato  Barker  praised  the  President  for  his  brave  stand 
for  the  rights  and  dignity^  of  the  Republic  in  his  heroic 
defense  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

In  the  same  breath  he  acclaimed  the  President  of 
Chile  who  led  the  way  to  the  court  of  reason  as  a  new 
prophet  of  humanity.  He  would  not  yield  one  inch 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine — no !  But 
it  had  been  demonstrated  that  such  issues  could  be 
settled  by  moral  suasion!  The  next  session  of  the 
august  Parliament  of  Man,  he  declared,  would  ratify 
the  decision  of  the  Pan-American  Congress  without  a 
dissenting  voice. 

189 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  long  pent  energies  of  our  nation  drove  us  for- 
ward now  at  lightning  speed.  During  the  last  year 
of  the  great  war  our  commerce  had  practically  come 
to  dominate  the  world.  Anticipating  conditions  at  its 
close,  Congress  passed  a  new  high  tariff  which  closed 
our  ports  to  the  flood  of  cheap  goods  Europe  was 
ready  to  dump  on  our  shores.  Every  wheel  in  America 
was  turning,  every  man  at  work,  wages  leaped  upward 
with  profits  mounting  to  unheard-of  figures.  The  dis- 
tress in  Europe  from  the  glut  of  an  overstocked  mar- 
ket sent  us  millions  of  laborers  and  still  our  industries 
clamored  for  more. 

A  hundred  million  Americans  went  mad  with  pros- 
perity. Our  wealth  had  already  mounted  steadily  dur- 
ing the  war.  We  were  not  only  the  richest  nation  on 
earth,  there  was  no  rival  in  sight. 

New  York  ascended  her  throne  as  the  money  center 
of  the  world,  and  wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice 
poured  into  the  coffers  of  her  captains  of  industry. 

The  one  thing  on  which  we  had  failed  to  make 
relative  progress  was  the  development  of  our  national 
defenses.  [We  had  more  ships,  more  guns,  more  forts, 
more  aircraft  and  more  submarines  than  ever  before, 
but  our  relative  position  in  power  of  defense  had 
dropped  to  the  lowest  record  in  history. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  great  war  in  1914  our  navy 
190 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

stood  third  on  the  list  in  power  and  efficiency.  Only 
Great  Britain  and  Germany  outranked  us  and  Ger- 
many's balance  of  power  was  so  slight  that  our  ad- 
vantageous position  was  deemed  sufficient  to  over- 
come it. 

At  the  end  of  the  great  war  we  had  sunk  to  sixth 
place  among  the  nations  in  power  and  efficiency  of 
defense. 

Great  Britain,  Germany,  France,  Russia  and  Japan 
outranked  us  so  far  that  we  could  not  consider  our- 
selves in  their  class.  The  armies  of  each  of  these 
powers  were  so  tremendous  in  their  aggregate  the  mind 
could  not  grasp  the  import  of  such  figures. 

In  spite  of  all  the  losses,  Germany's  mobile  forces, 
ready  at  a  moment's  notice,  numbered  5,000,000 
trained  veterans  with  muscles  of  steel  and  equipment 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  warfare.  Russia  had 
9,000,000  men  armed  and  hardened  by  war,  France 
had  3,000,000,  Great  Britain  3,000,000,  Austria- 
Hungary  3,000,000,  Japan  4,000,000. 

The  navies  of  the  world  had  also  grown  by  leaps 
and  bounds  in  spite  of  the  few  ships  that  had  been 
sunk  in  the  conflict.  Great  Britain  still  stood  first, 
Germany  next  and  then  France,  Russia  and  Japan. 
The  navies  of  each  of  these  nations  not  only  outranked 
us  in  the  number  of  ships,  submarines,  hydroplanes 
191 


THE  FALL  OF  A  SATIOX 


five  jean  of 

to  battle 

s  of  either  of  the  fire  great 
dire  wife  any  hope  of  success. 

the  guidance  of  Waldron  and  his  as- 
of  propagandists,  preparing  to  cele- 
the  great  Peace  Jolnke  the  week  preceding  the 
of  the  Pan-American  Congress  called  to  settle 
the  problem  of  the  Moiiroe  Doctrine. 

Tins  celebration  was  planned  on  a  scale  of  lavish 
oratory,  iCnmmaitons,  pro- 
of  in  onr  history.    The 
idratka]  in  New  York,  Boston,  Ph3- 
shngton,  Baftimore,  Norfolk, 
194 


THE  FALL  OF  A  XATIOX 


New  Orleans,  defdaad,  Detroit,  St. 
cities. 


Major  of  New  York  to  address  th 

Virginia  Holland  wit  only  refined  to  lead  the  grand 
Pageant  of  Peace  m  its  march  up  Fifth  Arane  to  the 

v   —  ^«      If     m     »      f^  •          j  ____  •:»     m    ^»  •» 

ayfatagis    scana,  IKK  sac  rcs^vni  as  pmavEav  ox  UK 

WOMB'S  Federation  of  CWb$  of  Iwarkm, 

•df  m  her  room  at  thrir  coimtrj  place  om  Jj 

^j  ,  .  f...  .  ,  i  »_  i^  -  •       -       i 
ana  lemini  to  DC  mmnewa. 

John  Tassar  read  UK  aanmauuauml  wfth  joy.    The 
lea^jj  of  his  ideas  had  begun  to  stir  the  depths  of  ker 
ire  heart!     UK  defeats  of  the 
if  they  brooght  her  agai.  «to 


He 

<»»  ttrr 


He  posted  fc  at  midnight  oa  the  opesuag  day  of  the 
Jubilee.  He  had  read  of  her  resignation  only  in  tins 
afternoon  papers.  The  managers  of  the  onmcmirs 

had  taken  for  granted  her  approval  and  iiananni 

M>  _  •  _»_^      ,  _— i  j  < a  *.^»        -       *  ^f    •   i  ^  ii  IT  •  a.  1 1 

tnat  sue  woma  ieaa  tne  pageanK  OK  synmooc  noacs  on 

a  HIUO  •hilt  horse  as  grand  man  hi  I 
19S 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

next  daj.  If  the  mails  were  properly  handled  his 
letter  should  have  reached  her  by  noon.  An  immediate^ 
answer  posted  in  Babylon  at  one  o'clock  might  be 
delivered  at  Stuyvesant  Square  by  six.  He  started  at 
every  call  of  the  postman's  whistle  in  vain.  He  was 
sure  an  answer  would  come  in  the  morning.  Nothing 
came.  He  put  his  hand  on  the  telephone  once  to  call 
her  and  decided  against  the  possibility  of  a  second 
bungling  of  his  cause. 

Instead  lie  called  the  post-office  and  learned  that  a 
congestion  of  mail,  owing  to  the  disorganization  of  the 
service  by  the  Jubilee,  had  caused  a  delay  of  twenty- 
four  hours  in  the  delivery  to  points  on  Long  Island. 

He  waited  in  vain  another  day.  He  walked  alone 
through  the  crowded  streets  that  night  studying  the 
curious  contagion  of  hysteria  which  had  swept  the  en- 
tire city  from!  its  moorings  of  an  orderly  sane  life. 

The  din  of  horns  and  the  shouts  of  boys  and  girls, 
crowding  and  jostling  on  tlie  densely  packed  pave- 
ments, surpassed  the  orgies  of  any  New  Year's  riot 
he  had  ever  witnessed.  Every  dance  hall  in  Greater 
New  York  was  thronged  with  merrymakers.  The  com- 
mittee in  charge  of  the  Jubilee,  supplied  with  unlimited 
tnoney,  had  hired  every  foot  of  floor  space  that  could 
be  used  for  dancing  and  placed  it  at  the  disposal  of 
the  social  organizations  of  the  city.  Wine  was  flowing 
194 


THE  FALL  OF,  A  NATION 

like  water.      The  police  winked  at  folly.     A  world's 
holiday  was  on  for  a  week. 

Vassar  visited  Jack's,  Maxim's,  Bustanoby's,  Rec- 
tor's, and  Churchill's  to  watch  the  orgie  at  its  height. 
Every  seat  was  filled  and  surging  crowds  were  waiting 
their  turn  at  the  tables.  Hundreds  of  pretty  girls, 
flushed  with  wine,  were  throwing  confetti  and  thrust- 
ing feathers  into  the  faces  of  passing  men.  The 
bolder  of  them  were  seated  on  the  laps  of  their  sweet- 
hearts, shouting  the  joys  of  peaceful  conquest. 

Professional  dancers  led  the  revelry  with  excesses 
of  suggestive  step  and  pose  that  brought  wild  rounds 
of  approval  from  the  more  reckless  observers. 

Vassar  left  the  last  place  at  12:30  with  a  sense  of 
sickening  anger.  The  fun  had  only  begun.  It  would 
not  reach  the  climax  before  two  o'clock.  At  three  the 
girls  who  were  throwing  confetti  would  be  too  drunk 
to  sit  in  their  chairs. 

He  drew  a  deep  breath  of  fresh  air  and  started  up 
Broadway  for  a  turn  in  the  park. 

He  paused  in  front  of  a  vacant  cab.  The  chauffeur 
tipped  his  cap. 

"Cab,  sir?     Free  for  two  hours.     Take  you  any- 
where you  want  to  go  for  a  song.     All  mine  on  the 
side.     Engaged  here  for  the  night.     They  won't  be 
out  till  morning.     They've  just  set  down." 
195 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

A  sudden  impulse  seized  him  to  drive  past  Wal- 
dron's  castle  and  see  its  illumination.  No  doubt  the 
place  would  be  a  blaze  of  dazzling  electric  lights. 

He  called  his  order  mechanically  and  stepped  into 
the  cab.  His  mind  was  not  on  the  glowing  lights  or 
pleasure  mad  crowds.  He  was  dreaming  of  the  woman 
who  had  taken  him  to  that  house  a  little  more  than 
two  years  before.  Every  detail  of  that  ride  and  inter- 
view with  Waldron  stood  out  now  in  his  imagination 
with  startling  vividness.  His  mind  persisted  in  pictur- 
ing the  two  corseted  young  men  who  stepped  from  the 
elevator  so  suddenly.  He  wondered  again  what  the 
devil  they  had  been  doing  there  and  where  they  came 
from — and  above  all  why  they  were  accompanied  by 
Villard. 

Before  he  realized  that  he  had  started  the  river 
flashed  in  view  from  the  heights  south  of  Waldron's 
castle.  He  had  told  the  chauffeur  to  keep  off  the  Drive, 
stick  to  Broadway  and  turn  up  Fort  Washington  Ave- 
nue which  ran  through  the  center  of  Waldron's  estate. 

To  his  amazement  the  banker's  house  was  dark  save 
the  light  from  a  single  window  in  the  tower  that  gleamed 
like  the  eye  of  a  demon  crouching  in  the  shadows  of 
the  skies.  The  tall  steel  flag  staff  on  the  tower  had 
been  lengthened  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Its  white 
line  could  be  distinctly  seen  against  the  stars.  And 
196 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

from  the  top  of  this  staff  now  hung  the  arm  of  a  wire- 
less station.  Waldron  had  no  doubt  gone  in  for  wire- 
less experiments  as  another  one  of  his  fads. 

Far  up  in  the  sky  he  caught  the  hum  of  an  aeroplane 
motor.  He  leaped  from  the  cab  and  listened.  The 
sound  was  unmistakable.  He  had  been  on  the  Congres- 
sional committees  and  witnessed  a  hundred  experiments 
by  the  Army  Aviation  Corps. 

"What  the  devil  can  that  mean  at  one  o'clock  at 
night?"  he  muttered. 

He  leaped  into  the  cab,  calling  to  his  driver : 

"Go  back  to  Times  Square  and  drop  me  at  the  Times 
Building — quick." 

He  made  up  his  mind  to  report  this  extraordinary 
discovery  to  the  night  editor  and  try  by  his  wireless 
plant  to  get  in  touch  with  Waldron's  tower. 

The  cab  was  just  sweeping  down  Broadway  between 
two  famous  restaurants  and  the  orgies  inside  were  at 
their  height.  The  shouts  and  songs  and  drunken  calls, 
the  clash  of  dishes,  the  pop  of  champagne  corks  and 
twang  of  music  poured  through  the  open  windows. 

The  cab  suddenly  lurched,  and  rose  into  the  air, 
lifted  on  a  floor  of  asphalt.  An  explosion  shook  the 
earth  and  ripped  the  sky  with  a  sword  of  flame. 

The  cab  crashed  downward  and  lit  squarely  on  the 
flat  roof  of  a  low-pitched  building  right  side  up. 
197 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  leaped  out  in  time  to  hear  the  dull  roar  of  the 
second  explosion. 

The  first  had  blown  up  and  blocked  the  suHway  and 
elevated  systems.  The  second  had  destroyed  the  power 
plants  of  the  surface  lines. 

It  had  come — the  war  he  had  vainly  fought  to  pre- 
vent! And  he  knew  with  unerring  certainty  the  hand 
and  brain  directing  the  first  treacherous  assault. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

VASSAR  smashed  the  skylight  of  the  low  roof  on 
which  he  had  been  hurled,  reached  the  ground 
floor  and  kicked  his  way  through  a  window. 

The  half-drunken  crowd  of  revelers  were  pouring 
out  of  restaurants  close  by.  The  electric  lights  on 
the  four  blocks  about  the  gaping  hole  had  been  extin- 
guished and  only  the  gas  lamps  on  the  side  streets 
threw  their  dim  rays  over  the  smoking  cavern. 

The  merrymakers  were  still  in  a  jovial  mood.  What 
was  one  explosion  more  or  less?  A  gas  main  had  merely 
blown  up — that  was  all.  They  took  advantage  of 
the  darkness  to  kiss  their  girls  and  indulge  in  coarse 
jests. 

A  fat  Johnny  emerging  from  a  restaurant  shouted: 

"Where  was  Moses  when  the  light  went  out?" 

A  wag  who  was  still  able  to  carry  his  liquor  to  the 
street  wailed  in  maudlin  falsetto: 

"The  question  'fore  the  house  is,  'Who  struck  Billy 
Patterson?' " 

A  series  of  terrific  explosions  shook  the  earth  in  rapid 
succession,  and  the  crowd  began  to  scramble  back  into 
199 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  banquet  halls,  or  run  in  mad  panic  without  a  plan 
or  purpose. 

A  company  of  soldiers  in  dull  brown  uniforms  with 
helmets  of  the  pattern  of  the  ancient  Romans  swung 
suddenly  into  Broadway  from  a  vacant  building  on  a 
darkened  side  street  and  rushed  northward  at  double 
quick. 

"In  God's  name,  what  regiment's  that?"  Vassar  asked 
half  to  himself. 

A  gilded  youth  with  battered  hat  slouched  over  his 
flushed  face  replied: 

"Search  me,  brother — and  what's  more  I  don't  give 
a  damn — just  so  they  turn  on  the  lights  and  send  me 
a  cab — I've  just  gotter  have  a  cab — I  can't  travel  with- 
out a  cab —  What  fell's  the  matter  anyhow?" 

Vassar  left  him  muttering  and  followed  the  troops  at 
a  brisk  trot. 

They  turned  into  Sixty-second  Street,  into  Columbus 
Avenue,  and  poured  through  the  smashed  doors  at  the 
Twelfth  Regiment  Armory — they  had  been  blown  open 
with  dynamite. 

A  sentinel  on  the  corner  stopped  him. 

"Will  you  tell  me  what  company  just  entered  the 
Armory  ?" 

The  soldier  answered  in  good  English  with  a  touch 
of  foreign  accent. 

200 


" '  In  God's  name,  what  regiment's  that  ? ' 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Certainly,  mein  Herr — Company  C,  Twelfth  Regi- 
ment of  the  Imperial  Confederation,  at  present  on  gar- 
rison duty  in  the  city  of  New  York — " 

"How  the  devil  did  you  land?" 

"We've  been  here  for  months  awaiting  orders — " 

He  saw  the  terrible  truth  in  a  flash.  The  secret  agent 
of  Imperial  Europe  had  organized  a  royal  army  and 
armed  them  at  his  leisure,  Villard  acting  under  Wal- 
dron's  guidance.  The  six  months'  delay  in  the  meeting 
of  the  Pan- American  Congress  was  made  for  this  pur- 
pose. They  were  all  trained  soldiers.  Their  officers 
had  landed  during  the  past  three  months.  The  Peace 
Jubilee  was  the  mask  for  their  movements  in  every  great 
center  of  population. 

At  a  given  signal  they  had  blown  in  the  doors  of 
every  armory  in  Greater  New  York,  disarmed  the  Na- 
tional Guard  and  mounted  machine  guns  on  their  para- 
pets. 

In  ten  minutes  machine  guns  were  bristling  from  the 
corners  of  every  street  leading  to  the  captured  armories. 

It  was  a  master  stroke !  There  were  at  least  a  million 
aliens,  trained  soldiers  of  Northern  and  Central 
Europe,  living  in  the  United  States. 

A  single  master  mind  could  direct  this  army  as  one 
man. 

He  thanked  G«d  that  his  father  and  the  girls  were 
201 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

at  Babylon.  He  had  sent  them  there  to  avoid  the  scenes 
of  the  Peace  Jubilee.  He  was  too  cautious  now  to  play 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

He  made  his  way  to  a  telephone  booth  and  attempted 
to  call  the  Mayor's  house. 

There  was  no  answer  from  Central.  The  telephone 
system  was  out  of  commission. 

He  hurried  to  a  Western  Union  office  to  wire  Wash- 
ington. Every  key  was  silent  and  the  operators  were 
standing  in  terror-stricken  groups  discussing  the  mean- 
ing of  it  all. 

He  hurried  to  the  Times  Building  to  try  and  reach 
the  President  by  wireless  and  found  the  plant  a  wreck. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  next  day  before  the  extent  of  the 
night's  horror  was  known  to  little  groups  of  leading 
men  who  had  been  lucky  enough  to  escape  arrest  by  the 
Imperial  garrison. 

Vassar  stood  among  his  friends  in  the  dim  back  room 
of  Schultz's  store  pale  and  determined,  speaking  in  sub- 
dued tone. 

Scrap  by  scrap  the  appalling  situation  had  been  re- 
vealed. 

A  federation  of  crowned  heads  of  Northern  and  Cen- 
tral Europe  had  decided  in  caucus  that  the  United 
States  of  America  was  the  one  fly  in  the  ointment  of 
world  harmony.  They  determined  to  remove  it  at  once, 
202 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

and  extend  the  system  of  government  by  divine  right 
not  only  into  South  America  but  North  America  as 
well.  The  great  war  had  impoverished  their  treasuries. 
The  money  had  flowed  into  the  vaults  of  the  despised 
common  herd  of  the  United  States.  They  would  first 
indemnify  themselves  for  the  losses  of  the  world  war 
out  of  this  exhaustless  hoard  and  then  organize  the 
social  and  industrial  chaos  of  the  West  into  the  imperial 
efficiency  of  a  real  civilization. 

The  result  would  make  them  the  masters  of  the  West- 
ern World  for  all  time.  Their  system  once  organized 
would  be  invincible.  The  slaves  they  had  rescued  from 
anarchy  would  kiss  the  hand  of  their  conquerors  at  last. 

This  was  the  whispered  message  a  trusted  leader  had 
received  from  an  officer  half  drunk  with  wine  and  crazed 
by  the  victory  they  had  already  achieved  for  the  ap- 
proaching imperial  fleet. 

Their  business  was  to  arrest  and  hold  as  hostages 
every  man  of  wealth  in  New  York,  guard  the  vaults  and 
banks  to  prevent  the  removal  of  money,  garrison  and 
control  the  cities  until  the  fleet  had  landed  the  imperial 
army. 

The  completeness  with  which  the  uprising  of  royalis£ 

subjects  had  been  executed  was  appalling.     They  had 

taken  the  trunk  lines  of  every  railroad  in  America.    Not 

a  train  had  arrived  in  New  York  from  any  point  south 

203 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  no  train  from  the  north 
had  reached  the  city  beyond  Tarrytown  on  the  Hudson 
or  South  Norwalk  on  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and 
Hartford. 

A  motor-cycle  reached  New  York  from  Philadelphia 
bearing  to  the  Mayor  the  startling  information  that 
the  Navy  Yard  had  been  captured,  the  Quaker  City's 
v transportation  system  paralyzed  and  that  the  Mayor 
had  surrendered  to  the  commanding  general  of  a  full 
army  corps  of  twenty  thousand  foreign  soldiers. 

An  automobile  arrived  from  Boston  with  the  same 
startling  information  from  the  capital  of  New  England. 
Not  only  had  the  Navy  Yard  at  Boston  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy  but  the  Yard  at  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  as  well. 

Not  a  wheel  was  turning  in  the  great  terminal  sta- 
tions of  New  York.  The  telephone  and  telegraph  and 
cable  systems  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  To  make 
the  wreck  of  the  means  of  communication  complete  every 
wireless  plant  which  had  not  been  blown  up  was  in  the 
hands  of  an  officer  of  the  imperial  garrison. 

It  was  impossible  to  communicate  by  wire,  wireless 
or  by  mail  with  Baltimore  or  Washington,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  cities  further  inland. 

Hour  by  hour  the  startling  items  of  news  crept  into 
the  stricken  metropolis  by  automobile  and  motor-cycle 
204 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

messengers.  The  motor-cycle  had  proven  the  only  re- 
liable means  of  communication.  Pickets  were  now  com- 
mandeering or  destroying  every  automobile  that  at- 
tempted to  pass  the  main  highways.  But  one  had 
gotten  through  from  Boston.  The  motor-cycles  had 
taken  narrow  paths  and  side-stepped  the  pickets. 

Not  only  had  the  great  cities  and  navy  yards  been 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  a  foreign  foe  mobilized  in  a 
night,  but  every  manufactory  of  arms  and  ammunition, 
and  every  arsenal  had  been  captured  with  trifling  loss 
of  life.  The  big  gun  factory  at  Troy,  the  stores  of 
ammunition  at  Dover,  New  Jersey,  the  Bethlehem  Iron 
Works,  the  great  factories  at  Springfield,  Bridgeport, 
Hartford,  Ilion,  Utica  and  Syracuse  were  defenseless 
and  had  fallen.  In  short,  with  the  remorseless  movement 
of  fate  every  instrument  for  the  manufacture  of  arms 
and  ammunition  was  in  the  hands  of  our  foes,  locked 
and  barred  with  bristling  machine  guns  thrusting  their 
noses  from  every  window  an3  everjr  street  corner  lead- 
ing to  their  enclosures. 

The  thing  had  been  done  with  a  thoroughness  and 
lightning  rapidity  that  stunned  the  imagination  of  the 
men  who  had  dared  to  think  of  resistance. 

The  only  problem  which  confronted  their  commander 
was  to  hold  what  he  had  captured  until  the  arrival  of 
the  fleet  and  transports  bearing  the  first  division  of 
205 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  regular  army  with  its  mighty  guns,  aeroplanes  and 
submarines. 

Unless  this  fleet  and  army  should  arrive  and  land 
within  a  reasonable  time,  the  overwhelming  numbers  of 
the  populated  centers,  the  scattered  forces  of  the  reg- 
ular army  of  the  United  States  and  the  National  Guard, 
with  the  volunteers  who  possessed  rifles  would  present 
a  dangerous  problem.  The  amount  of  dynamite  and 
other  high  explosives  yet  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
could  not  be  estimated. 

They  had  yet  to  reckon  with  the  regular  army.  The 
traitors  had  already  found  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel 
in  the  police  force  of  New  York.  Our  little  army  of 
ten  thousand  policemen  had  given  a  good  account  of 
themselves  before  the  sun  had  risen  on  the  fatal  morning. 

A  force  of  five  thousand  reserves  fought  for  six 
bloody  hours  to  recapture  the  Armory  of  the  Seventy- 
first  Regiment  at  Park  Avenue  and  Thirty-fourth 
Street.  They  used  their  own  machine  guns  with  ter- 
rible effect  on  a  regiment  that  had  been  rushed  to  assist 
the  garrison  inside.  This  regiment  had  been  annihilated 
as  they  emerged  from  the  tunnel  of  the  Fourth  Avenue 
Street  car  system  at  Thirty-third  Street.  The  police 
had  received  word  that  they  were  in  the  tunnel,  placed 
their  machine  guns  to  rake  its  mouth  and  when  the 
gray  helmets  emerged,  they  were  met  with  a  storm  of 
206 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

death.  Their  bodies  were  piled  in  a  ghastly  heap  that 
blocked  the  way  of  retreat.  But  the  men  inside  were 
invisible.  Their  machine  guns  and  sharpshooters  piled 
our  blue  coats  in  dark  heaps  over  Thirty-fourth  Street, 
Fourth  Avenue,  Thirty-third  Street  and  Lexington 
Avenue.  At  ten  o'clock  their  commander  determined 
to  smash  the  barricade  of  the  main  entrance  where  the 
doors  had  been  dynamited  and  take  the  armory  or  wipe 
out  his  force  in  the  attempt. 

In  this  armory  had  been  stored  enough  guns  for  the 
new  National  Guard  to  equip  an  army  large  enough  to 
dispute  possession  of  the  city  with  their  foes.  Behind 
the  cases  containing  these  rifles  were  piled  five 
hundred  machine  guns  whose  value  now  was  beyond 
estimate. 

The  Colonel  of  the  regiment  quartered  inside  knew 
their  value  even  better  than  his  assailant.  The  fight  at 
the  barricades  of  the  door  was  to  the  death. 

When  the  firing  ceased,  there  was  no  bluecoat  left 
to  give  the  order  to  retreat.  Their  bodies  were  piled 
in  a  compact  mass  five  feet  high. 

The  police  force  of  the  metropolis  were  not  defeated. 
They  were  simply  annihilated.  In  pools  of  blood  they 
had  wiped  out  the  jibes  and  slurs  of  an  unhappy  past. 
Not  one  who  wore  the  blue  surrendered.  They  had 
died  to  a  man. 

207 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  escaped  the  fate  of  the 
yards  at  Boston  and  Portsmouth  by  a  miracle. 

The  superdreadnought  Pennsylvania  had  not  been 
assigned  to  the  fleet  which  had  just  been  dispatched 
through  the  Panama  Canal  to  the  Pacific.  She  had 
entered  the  basin  to  receive  slight  repairs.  By  a 
curious  piece  of  luck  her  Captain  had  refused  shore 
leave  to  his  men  to  attend  the  festivities  of  the  Jubilee. 

A  premonition  of  disaster  through  some  subtle  sixth 
sense  had  caused  him  at  the  last  moment  to  issue  the 
order  for  every  man  to  remain  on  the  ship.  The  sailors 
had  pleaded  in  vain.  They  had  turned  in  cursing  their 
superior  for  a  fool  and  a  tyrant. 

The  explosions  which  wrecked  the  doors  of  the  ar- 
mories and  paralyzed  the  traffic  of  the  city  found  the 
Captain  of  the  Pennsylvania  awake,  pacing  her  decks, 
unable  to  sleep. 

When  the  division  of  the  Imperial  Guard  assigned 
to  storm  the  yard  rushed  it  they  ran  squarely  into  the 
guns  of  the  big  gray  monster,  whose  searchlights  sud- 
denly swept  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  inclosure. 

In  ten  minutes  from  the  time  they  dynamited  the 
gates  and  rushed  the  grounds  the  shells  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania were  tearing  them  to  pieces  and  incidentally 
reducing  the  Navy  Yard  to  a  junk  heap. 

When  the  Yard  had  been  cleared,  the  Captain  landed 
208 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

his  marines,  searched  the  ruins  and  picked  up  a  wounded 
officer  who  in  sheer  bravado,  cocksure  of  ultimate  vic- 
tory, gave  him  the  information  he  demanded. 

"Who  the  hell  are  you  anyhow?"  the  Captain  asked. 

"Lieutenant  Colonel  Harden  of  the  Sixty-ninth  Im- 
perial Guard  of  the  American  Colonies — " 

"Colonies,  eh?" 

The  young  officer  smiled. 

"From  tonight,  the  United  States  of  America  dis- 
appears from  the  map  of  the  world.  It  will  be  divided 
between  the  kingdoms  comprising  the  Imperial  Feder- 
ation of  Northern  Europe.  England  and  France  are 
yet  poisoned  with  your  democratic  ideas.  They  have 
remained  neutral,  following  your  illustrious  example 
in  the  world  war.  We  don't  need  them.  Our  task  is 
so  easy  it's  a  joke.  You  have  my  sympathy,  Captain. 
You're  a  brave  and  capable  man.  You  would  do  honor 
to  the  Imperial  Navy.  You  surprised  me  tonight.  I 
was  informed — reliably  informed — that  you  and  your 
men  were  celebrating  the  reign  of  universal  peace — " 

"Who  is  your  leader?" 

"A  great  man,  sir,  known  in  New  York  as  Charles 
Waldron.  The  Emperor  in  command  of  the  forces  of 
United  Europe  has  been  informed  already  by  wireless 
that  America  is  in  his  hands.  [Tomorrow  morning  this 
leader's  name  will  be  Prince  Karl  von  Waldron,  Gov- 
209 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ernor-General  of  the  Imperial  Provinces  of  North 
America." 

"So?" 

"I  advise  you,  Captain,  to  make  the  best  terms  you 
can  with  your  new  master." 

"Thank  you,"  was  the  dry  reply. 

The  Captain  dispatched  a  launch  to  Governor's 
Island  reporting  to  General  Hood  the  remarkable  in- 
formation he  had  received.  His  guns  had  Already 
roused  the  garrison.  The  launch  met  General  Hood's 
at  the  mouth  of  the  basin. 

The  two  men  clasped  hands  in  silence  on  the  deck 
of  the  Pennsylvania. 

"The  first  blow,  a  thunderbolt  from  the  blue,  Gen- 
eral— without  a  declaration — " 

"A  blow  below  the  belt  too — a  slave  insurrection  is 
honorable  war  compared  to  the  treachery  that  would 
thus  abuse  our  hospitality!" 

They  tried  the  telephones  and  telegraph  stations  in 
vain.  A  council  of  war  was  called  and  through  the  grim 
hours  from  two  A.  M.  until  dawn  they  sat  in  solemn 
session. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

VASSAR'S  Committee  of  Public  Safety  in  the 
rear  room  of  Schultz'  store  grew  rapidly  into 
a  recruiting  stand  for  volunteers. 

Before  twelve  o'clock  the  old  Armory  across  the  way 
was  packed  with  hundreds  of  excited  followers  eager  to 
fight.  A  bare  hundred  of  them  had  permits  to  carry 
revolvers.  A  few  had  secured  sticks  of  dynamite  from 
builders.  A  hundred  old  muskets  Vassar's  East  Side 
Guard  had  used  were  there — but  not  a  shell. 

While  they  talked  and  raged  in  stunned  amazement 
over  the  situation,  a  newsboy's  hoarse  cry  of  extra 
startled  the  meeting.  The  morning  papers  had  all  gone 
to  press  before  the  blow  had  been  struck. 

"Get  a  paper — quick!"  Vassar  cried  to  Brodski,  his 
district  leader. 

The  familiar  call  of  the  two  newsboys  yelling  from 
each  side  of  the  street  could  now  be  heard.  This  time 
their  words  were  clearly  heard  above  the  din. 

"Wuxtra!    Wuxtra!" 

"New  York  City  captured !" 

"Proclamation  of  Prince  Karl  von  Waldron!" 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Wuxtra!    Wuxtra!    Wuxtra!" 

Brodski  returned  with  copies  of  the  Herald,  Tribune, 
Times,  World,  Sim,  and  Press. 

Each  had  issued  a  morning  extra. 

On  the  front  page,  in  double-leaded  black-faced  type, 
surmounted  by  an  imperial  coat-of-arms  supporting  a 
crown,  the  proclamation  of  the  new  Governor-General 
was  printed: 

TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES 

Your  Republic  no  longer  exists,  The  invincible 
fleet  of  the  Imperial  Federation  of  Northern  and 
Central  Europe  is  now  rapidly  approaching  New 
York.  The  transports  which  it  guards  bear  the 
first  division  of  the  Imperial  Army  of  Occupation, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  strong. 

The  chief  cities  of  the  country  have  already 
surrendered  to  my  garrisons  of  200,000  veteran 
soldiers.  Under  my  immediate  command  in 
Greater  New  York  are  50,000  soldiers — 25,000 
infantry  and  cavalry  and  25,000  men  equipped 
with  8000  machine  guns. 

We  are  here  to  preserve  order,  guard  your 
property  and  deliver  the  first  city  of  America  in- 
tact to  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  approach- 
ing Imperial  Army. 

All  saloons  are  ordered  closed  until  opened  by 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

license  of  the  new  government.  All  assemblies 
in  schools,  churches,  theaters,  public  halls  or  on 
the  streets  or  parks  are  forbidden  under  penalty 
of  death. 

All  persons  found  with  firearms,  explosives  or 
weapons  of  any  kind  which  might  be  used  in  war 
or  for  the  purpose  of  rioting  will  be  given  until 
noon  tomorrow  to  deposit  the  same  in  the 
Seventy-first  Regiment  Armory,  Park  Avenue  and 
Thirty-fourth  Street. 

After  that  hour  the  penalty  for  any  citizen, 
male  or  female,  caught  bearing  arms,  will  be  in- 
stant death  and  the  confiscation  of  property. 

All  automobiles,  motor-cars,  bicycles  and  horses 
are  hereby  proclaimed  the  property  of  the  Im- 
perial Government  and  it  is  forbidden  under 
penalty  of  death  for  any  person  save  a  soldier  in 
royal  uniform  to  use  them. 

The  railroads  will  be  opened  for  traffic  under 
Imperial  control  within  forty-eight  hours.  No 
uneasiness  need  be  felt,  therefore,  that  your  food 
supply  will  fail.  The  subways  and  surface  lines 
will  be  ready  for  use  within  twenty-four  hours. 

All  persons  are  ordered  to  resume  their  usual 
occupations  tomorrow  morning  at  daylight  when 
the  means  of  transportation  have  been  restored. 

Resistance  of  any  kind  will  be  absolutely  futile. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  entire 

Cabinet  are  prisoners  of  war,  and  your  Capitol, 

duly  guarded,  is  in  my  hands.     Your  fleet  is  in 

213 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  Pacific,  and  I  have  destroyed  the  locks  of  the 
Panama  Canal. 

The  Imperial  Government  earnestly  desires 
that  all  bloodshed  be  avoided.  We  have  the  best 
interests  of  the  people  at  heart.  We  will  estab- 
lish for  the  first  time  in  your  history  a  govern- 
ment worthy  of  this  nation.  My  Imperial  Master 
will  treat  all  loyal  subjects  as  his  beloved  chil- 
dren. His  foes  will  be  ground  to  dust  beneath 
his  feet.  For  these  no  quarter  will  be  asked,  none 
given. 

I  have  already  caused  the  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  two  hundred  well-known  citizens  to  be 
held  as  hostages  for  your  good  behavior. 

Your  great  churches,  your  municipal  buildings 
and  your  big  commercial  houses  have  all  been 
mined.  At  the  first  outbreak  of  rebellion,  your 
hostages  will  be  shot  and  your  city  reduced  to 


In  the  name  of  my  Imperial  Master  I  command 
the  peace. 

PRINCE  KARL  VON  WALDRON, 
Governor-General  of  the 

Provinces  of  North  America. 

Vassar    read    this    remarkable    proclamation    aloud 
amid  a  silence  that  was  strangling. 

He  opened  the  papers  and  glanced  at  the  editorial 
columns.     It  was  as  he  feared. 
214 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

A  free  press  in  America  no  longer  existed. 

Waldron  was  dictating  every  utterance  from  his 
tower  on  the  heights  of  Manhattan. 

Each  paper  earnestly  appealed  to  all  citizens  to  re- 
frain from  violence  and  make  the  best  of  their  situation 
until  intelligent  advice  could  be  given  after  a  sufficient 
time  had  passed  for  reflection  and  conference  with  all 
parts  of  the  nation. 

Vassar  mopped  his  brow  and  groaned. 

"Well,  boys,"  he  began,  "we  must  give  them  credit 
for  doing  a  good  job.  They  don't  bungle,  they  don't 
muddle,  they  don't  leave  anything  to  chance.  They've 
got  us  for  the  moment.  There's  but  one  thing  to  do, 
submit — " 

"No! — No!"  came  the  angry  growl. 

Vassar  smiled. 

"Submit  for  the  present,  I  was  trying  to  tell  you, 
until  we  can  find  the  nucleus  of  an  army  to  support. 
He  didn't  mention  our  forts  or  our  little  army.  They 
failed  to  get  those  forts  from  the  rear  and  they're  iri^ 
tact.  There  are  half  a  dozen  battleships  somewhere 
on  the  Atlantic  side.  The  main  fleet  cannot  reach  us 
within  a  month.  The  Panama  Canal  has  been  blown 
up  of  course.  But  the  ships  that  are  here  with  two 
dozen  efficient  submarines  and  aeroplanes  will  be  heard 
from  before  the  army  lands — " 
215 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"That's  the  talk!"  Benda  cried.  "We're  all 
Americans,  signer!" 

"Ya,  gov'nor!"  Schultz  whispered.  "This  is  my 
country  now — I  fight — if  you'll  give  me  a  gun." 

A  boy  of  eighteen,  smeared  with  dirt  and  mud,  pushed 
his  way  into  the  crowd  and  thrust  a  note  into  Vassar's 
hand. 

"In  God's  name,  Billy!"  the  young  leader  cried. 
"What  are  you  doing  here?" 

The  boy  saluted. 

"My  duty,  sir.  When  I  heard  what  was  happening 
I  reported  to  General  Hood.  I'm  on  secret  dispatch 
work." 

Vassar  gripped  the  boy's  hand,  dropped  it,  tore  the 
letter  open,  read  it  hastily,  and  turned  to  the  crowd : 

"Now  men,  listen!  The  forts  are  intact.  General 
Wood  appoints  me  on  his  staff,  with  the  rank  of 
colonel.  He  is  establishing  his  headquarters  at  South- 
hampton,  Long  Island.  The  Pennsylvania  has  slipped 
to  sea  and  is  gathering  our  fleet.  She  has  picked  up 
wireless  messages  which  leads  her  to  believe  that  the 
landing  will  be  made  at  that  point.  Our  little  fleet 
is  getting  ready  for  the  fight.  I  want  every  man  that 
can  find  a  gun  to  hustle  over  to  Jamaica.  The  army 
holds  the  Long  Island  Railroad  from  Jamaica.  Trains 
are  now  waiting  for  you  there. 
216 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"They  can't  begin  to  enforce  that  proclamation  until 
their  army  lands.  The  garrisons  here  will  stick  to  the 
armories  and  their  machine  guns  until  reinforced — " 

A  suppressed  cheer  swept  the  crowd. 

Vassar  lifted  his  hand  for  silence. 

"Now  I  want  volunteers  to  take  this  order  to  every 
election  district  in  New  York — " 

"Si — si,  signor,"  Benda  cried.  "Angela  and  my 
bambino — they  go  too.  I  play  and  shout  for  the 
Emperor.  Angela  she  beat  the  tambourine  and  play 
for  the  soldiers.  We  get  the  word  in  the  danger  places, 
quick !" 

"Good  boy !"  Vassar  exclaimed.  "I'll  send  you  where 
the  others  might  fail — " 

In  rapid  succession  he  sent  his  five  hundred  followers 
through  the  city  bearing  the  whispered  word  to  every 
district. 

When  the  last  man  had  hurried  away  he  turned  to 
Billy. 

"Your  sister  and  the  children?" 

"Virgina's  gone  to  a  mountaineer's  cabin  in  the 
Adirondacks — left  the  night  the  Jubilee  began — " 

"No  wonder  she  didn't  reply — "  Vassar  muttered. 

"She'll  be  back  here  in  double  quick  time,  though, 
when  she  hears  of  this.  You  know  Virginia's  got  no 
commonsense — " 

217 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"And  the  kids?" 

"I  took  Zonia  and  Marya  over  to  our  house.  The 
old  man  and  your  father's  with  them.  They've  a 
couple  of  shotguns  and  two  revolvers.  They're  all 
right." 

Vassar  smiled  grimly  at  the  boy's  faith. 

"Report  to  General  Hood  that  I  will  reach  Jamaica 
within  six  to  eight  hours  and  that  he  may  expect  twenty 
thousand  men  to  be  there  before  nine  o'clock  tonight. 
How'd  you  get  here?" 

"Hid  my  bicycle  in  Brooklyn  and  walked  across  the 
bridge." 

"I'll  follow  suit.  I  know  where  I  can  put  my  hand 
on  a  good  bicycle  or  two  at  the  Athletic  Club — " 

Billy  saluted  and  hurried  on  his  mission. 

At  nine  o'clock,  the  Jamaica  terminal  was  jammed 
with  forty  thousand  volunteers  armed  with  every  weapon 
conceivable,  from  a  crowbar  to  a  yacht  cannon.  A 
sailor  had  actually  smuggled  an  old  brass  saluting 
piece  into  a  ramshackled  automobile  and  gotten  into 
the  station  with  it.  These  relics  from  the  ark  were 
left  in  the  basement  o'f  the  terminal. 

General    Hood    had    succeeded    in    getting    sixty 

thousand     rifles     from     the    Brooklyn     Navy    Yard, 

Governor's    Island,    the    Forts    and    one    uncaptured 

armory  in  Brooklyn  which  the  guns  of  the  Pennsylvania 

218 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

had  torn  open  and  held  until  occupied  by  his 
troops. 

All  night  the  Volunteers  from  Brooklyn  and  New 
York  streamed  into  Jamaica.  Before  daylight  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men  were  struggling  to  board  the  trains 
for  Southampton. 

But  fifty  thousand  were  allowed  to  leave.  There 
were  no  more  guns.  The  remaining  fifty  thousand  were 
held  as  reserves  with  such  rude  weapons  as  they  pos- 
sessed. Guards  were  placed  defending  the  approaches 
to  Brooklyn  and  New  York  and  a  camp  established  for 
drilling  and  training  the  new  recruits  into  the  semblance 
of  an  army. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  sun  rose  on  a  day  never  to  be  forgotten  by 
the  people  of  Long  Island.  Refugees  were 
pouring  along  every  road  from  the  city.  A  wild 
rumor  of  the  bombardment  of  New  York  had  spread 
and  they  were  determined  to  get  behind  General  Hood's 
thin  line  of  half-armed  defenders.  They  were  still 
imbued  with  a  blind  faith  that  somewhere  our  mighty 
nation  had  an  army  of  adequate  defense. 

Virginia  Holland  had  reached  home  by  automobile 
to  find  her  father's  house  turned  into  a  recruiting 
camp.  Old  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
and  the  Confederate  veterans  of  New  York  and  Brook- 
lyn, were  out  in  their  faded  uniforms  demanding  guns 
with  which  to  defend  the  flag. 

Holland  received  them  in  his  house  and  began  to 
drill  on  the  lawn.  Virginia  with  sinking  heart  hurried 
to  serve  refreshments  to  the  mob  of  excited  men. 
Marya  and  Zonia  joined  with  enthusiasm. 

Benda  was  there  awaiting  Vassar's  arrival  with  a 
squad  of  his  friends  for  whom  he  had  procured 
uniforms  and  a  few  guns.  He  was  drilling  them  in  his 
220 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

earnest,  awkward  way  when  Angela  suddenly  appeared 
in  the  line  of  refugees  from  New  York. 

He  rushed  to  stop  her: 

"Ah,  my  Angela,  you  here !  And  I  told  you  stay 
home !" 

Angela  tossed  her  head  with  contempt  for  his  fears. 

"I  come  with  you — " 

"Go  back— back— I  say!" 

Angela  merely  laughed  and  resumed  her  march  with 
the  refugees.  If  they  could  live  she  could. 

Tommaso  threw  up  his  hands  in  despair  and  returned 
to  his  drill. 

At  noon  Vassar  approached  at  the  head  of  a  division 
of  raw  troops.  The  road  was  lined  with  cheering 
people.  He  halted  his  men  at  the  gate,  dismounted 
and  entered  the  Holland  lawn,  hoping  against  hope  for 
a  word  with  Virginia.  He  watched  for  a  moment  old 
Holland  at  the  pathetic  task  of  drilling  his  blue  and 
gray  veterans. 

"It  won't  do,  Mr.  Holland,"  he  said  with  a  smile. 
"Your  fighting  is  done — " 

"Nonsense !"  Holland  protested.     "I'll  show  you—" 

He  put  his  line  of  veterans  through  the  manual  of 
arms  and  one  of  them  fainted. 

Vassar  slipped  his  arm  about  him  tenderly. 

"It's  no  use.  I  need  your  guns.  Give  them  to  me — " 
221 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Tommaso  marched  in  and  took  the  half-dozen  guns 
against  the  bitter  protests  of  the  old  men. 

They  gathered  at  the  gate  and  cheered  and  cried  as 
the  boys  answered  the  assembly  call. 

Vassar  met  Virginia  and  extended  his  hand  in 
silence.  She  turned  away  fighting  for  self-control. 
Her  heart  was  too  sore  in  its  consciousness  of  tragedy 
for  surrender  yet.  His  tall  figure  straightened,  he 
turned  and  hurried  to  his  men. 

It  was  not  until  she  saw  him  riding  bravely  toward 
the  enemy  to  the  certain  doom  that  awaited  our  men 
that  she  lifted  her  hands  in  a  vain  effort  to  recall  him 
and  sob  her  repentance  in  his  arms. 


CHAPTER  XXV; 

IN  vain  officers  tried  to  stem  the  torrent  of  humanity 
that  poured  out  in  the  wake  of  the  volunteers. 
The  wildest  rumors  had  deprived  them  of  all 
reason.  They  had  heard  that  the  city  would  be  shelled 
by  the  foreign  fleet  within  six  hours  and  reduced  to 
ashes.  It  was  reported  that  the  enemy's  giant  sub- 
marines had  already  passed  the  forts  at  Sandy  Hook 
and  the  Narrows  and  were  now  taking  their  places 
around  the  city  in  the  North  and  East  Rivers.  The 
guns  of  these  dreadnaught  submarines  threw  five-inch 
shells  and  New  York  was  already  at  their  mercy. 

It  was  useless  to  argue  with  these  terror-stricken 
people.  They  merely  stared  in  dumb  misery  and 
trudged  on,  mothers  leading  children,  dirty,  bedraggled, 
footsore  and  hungry — little  boys  and  girls  carrying 
their  toys  and  pets — the  old,  the  young,  scrambling, 
crowding,  hurrying  they  knew  not  where  for  safety. 

Vassar  arrived  at  General  Hood's  headquarters  in 
time  to  witness  the  clash  of  our  squadron  with  the 
advance  fleet  of  the  enemy. 

The  battle  was  not  more  than  five  miles  at  sea  in 
plain  view  of  the  shore. 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  watched  the  struggle  in  dumb  misery. 

It  was  magnificent.  But  it  was  not  war.  He  felt 
this  from  the  moment  he  saw  our  five  ships  with  their 
little  flotilla  of  torpedo  boats  and  submarines  head  for 
the  giant  armada  that  moved  toward  them  with  the 
swift,  unerring  sweep  of  Fate. 

Our  great  red,  white  and  blue  battle  flags  suddenly 
fluttered  in  the  azure  skies  as  the  Pennsylvania's  for- 
ward turret  spit  a  white  cloud  of  smoke.  A  long 
silence,  ominous  and  tense  followed  and  the  sand  dunes 
shivered  with  the  roar  of  her  mighty  guns. 

The  big  cruiser  leading  the  van  of  the  advancing 
foe  answered  with  two  white  balls  of  smoke  and  Vassar 
saw  the  geysers  rise  from  their  exploding  shells  five 
hundred  yards  short  of  our  ship. 

From  out  of  the  distant  sky  above  the  armada 
emerged  a  flock  of  gray  gulls — tiny  specks  at  first, 
they  gradually  spread  until  their  steel  wings  swept 
a  space  five  miles  in  width.  The  hydroplanes  of  the 
enemy  had  risen  from  the  sea  and  were  coming  to 
meet  our  brave  airmen  with  their  pitiful  little  fleet  of 
biplanes. 

Higher  and  higher  our  boys  climbed  till  but  tiny 
specks  in  the  sky.  The  great  gray  fleet  of  the  hostile 
gulls  began  to  circle  after  them. 

The  guns  of  our  battleship  were  roaring  their  de- 
224 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

fiance  now  in  salvos  that  shook  the  earth.  The  im- 
perial armada,  with  twenty  magnificent  dreadnaughts, 
advanced  to  meet  them  with  every  gun  thundering. 

"O  my  God !"  Vassar  groaned.  "To  think  our  people 
closed  their  eyes  and  refused  to  see  this  day!" 

Had  his  bill  for  national  defense  become  a  law  our 
navy  would  have  ranked  second,  if  not  first,  in  the 
world.  It  would  not  have  been  necessary  to  shift  it 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  We  could  have  com- 
manded both  oceans.  It  would  be  too  late  when  our 
main  fleet  returned  by  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 

Our  ships  were  putting  up  a  magnificent  fight.  One 
of  them  had  been  struck  and  was  evidently  crippled, 
but  her  big  guns  were  still  roaring,  her  huge  battle 
flags  streaming  in  the  wind. 

Vassar  lowered  his  glasses  and  turned  to  General 
Hood. 

"They're  going  to  die  game!'* 

The  General  answered  with  his  binoculars  gripped 
tight,  gazing  seaward.  "They're  gamecocks  all  right — 
but  I'm  just  holding  my  breath  now.  You  notice  the 
enemy  does  not  advance?" 

"Yes,  by  George,  they're  afraid!  There's  not  a 
dreadnaught  among  them  that  can  match  the  guns  of 
our  flagship!" 

"Nonsense,"  Hood  answered  evenly,  "they've  slowed 
225 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

down  for  another  reason.     Unless  I'm  mistaken  they've 
led  our  squadron  into  a  school  of  submarines — " 

The  words  were  scarcely  out  of  his  mouth  before  a 
hugh  column  of  water  and  smoke  leaped  into  the 
heavens  beside  the  flagship,  her  big  hull  heeled  on  her 
beam's  end  and  she  hung  in  the  air  a  helpless,  quiver- 
ing mass  of  twisted  steel  slowly  sinking. 

"They've  got  her!"  Vassar  groaned. 

Before  the  Pennsylvania  had  disappeared  her  three 
sister  ships  had  been  torpedoed.  They  were  slowly  sink- 
ing, the  calm  waters  black  with  our  drowning  men. 

The  sea  was  literally  alive  with  submarines.  The 
conning  towers  of  dozens  could  be  seen  circling  the 
doomed  ships. 

The  Oklahoma  had  been  disabled  by  shell  fire  before 
the  submarines  appeared.  She  was  running  full  steam 
now  for  the  beach,  with  a  dozen  submarines  closing  in 
on  her.  The  white  streak  of  foam  left  by  their  upper 
decks  could  be  distinctly  seen  from  the  shore.  Utterly 
reckless  of  any  danger  from  the  after  guns  of  the  dy- 
ing dreadnaught  they  were  racing  for  the  honor  of 
launching  the  torpedo  that  would  send  her  to  the  bot- 
tom. 

Her   after   guns   roared   and   two   submarines   were 
smashed.  Their  white  line  of  foam  ended  in  a  widening 
mirror  of  oil  on  the  dark  surface  of  the  sea. 
226 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

At  almost  the  same  moment  a  torpedo  found  her  bow 
and  sent  the  huge  prow  into  the  air.  She  dropped  and 
her  stern  lifted,  the  propellers  still  spinning.  Two 
swift  submarines  making  twenty-two  knots  an  hour  had 
circled  her  on  both  sides  and  brought  their  torpedoes 
to  bear  on  her  bow  at  the  same  moment.  Her  battle 
flag  was  flying  as  she  sank  headforemost  to  her  grave. 

The  wind  suddenly  shifted  and  the  men  who  watched 
with  beating  hearts  heard  the  stirring  strains  of  "The 
Star  Spangled  Banner"  floating  across  the  waters  from 
her  slippery  decks.  Weird  and  thrilling  were  its  notes 
mingling  with  the  soft  wash  of  the  surf  at  low  tide. 
The  music  was  unearthly.  Its  strains  came  from  the 
deep  places  of  eternity. 

Instinctively  both  men  lowered  their  glasses  and 
stood  with  uncovered  heads  until  the  music  died  away 
and  only  the  dark  blue  bodies  of  our  boys  were  seen 
where  a  mighty  ship  had  gone  down. 

:'  "We've  but  one  life  to  give!"  Hood  exclaimed.  "It's 
a  pity  we  haven't  the  tools  now  to  make  that  life  count 
for  more !" 

:  The  little  torpedo  boat  flotilla  closed  in  and  dashed 
headlong  for  the  submarines.  To  the  surprise  of  the 
watchers  not  one  of  the  undersea  craft  dived  or  yielded 
an  inch.  Their  five-inch  disappearing  guns  leaped  from 
the  level  of  the  water  and  answered  our  destroyers 

!|  227 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

gun  for  gun.  ^Their  decks  were  awash  with  the  sea 
and  armored  so  heavily  that  little  danger  could  be  done 
by  our  shells. 

The  battle  of  the  sharks  was  over  in  thirty  minutes. 
Not  a  single  destroyer  escaped.  They  had  dashed  head- 
long into  a  field  of  more  than  a  hundred  dreadnaught 
submarines.  One  by  one  our  destroyers  broke  im 
pieces  and  sank  to  rise  no  more. 

A  few  dark  blue  blots  on  the  smooth  waters  could 
be  seen — all  we  had  left  afloat — and  they  were  sinking 
one  by  one  without  a  hand  being  lifted  to  their  rescue. 

The  imperial  armada  was  mistress  of  the  seas.  The 
great  ships  moved  majestically  in  and  prepared  to 
shell  the  shores  to  clear  the  way  for  their  landing. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

SO  intense  and  spectacular  had  been  the  battle  of 
the  fleets  that  neither  Vassar  nor  his  superior 
officer  had  lifted  their  eyes  to  the  dim  struggle 
of  the  skies.  The  birdmen  had  climbed  to  such  heights 
they  were  no  larger  to  the  eye  than  a  flock  of  circling 
pigeons.  The  tragedies  of  this  battle  were  no  less 
grim  and  desperate.  Two  of  these  daring  defenders 
of  our  shores  had  been  ordered  to  stay  out  of  the  fight 
and  report  to  General  Hood  if  the  fleet  should  be  sunk. 

They  saw  one  of  these  couriers  descending  in  swift, 
graceful  circles.  He  landed  on  the  sand  dunes, 
sprang  from  his  seat  and  saluted  the  General. 

"Well,   sir?"   General  Hood   cried. 

The  birdman  was  a  smiling  young  giant  with  blond 
hair  and  fine  blue  eyes.  They  were  sparkling  with 
pride. 

"It  was  some  fight,  General — believe  me!  Our  fel- 
lows covered  themselves  with  glory — that's  all!  I 
nearly  died  of  heart  failure  because  I  couldn't  go  in 
with  'em." 

"How  many  escaped?" 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I  didn't  see  any  of  the  boys  try  to  get  away,  sir — " 

"They  all  fell?" 

"Oh,  yes  sir,  of  course,  they  all  fell — but,  take  it 
from  me,  they  gave  those  fellows  merry  hell  before 
they  did—" 

He  paused  and  mopped  his  brow. 

"My,  but  it's  hot  down  here !"  he  complained.  "They 
looked  like  fierce  eagles  up  there  and  every  time  they 
made  a  dash  at  an  enemy  their  claws  brought  blood. 
Honest  to  God,  General,  I  saw  one  of  our  big  biplanes 
smash  six  taubes  and  send  them  swirling  into  the  sea 
before  they  got  him.  They  were  as  thick  after  him 
as  bees  too.  He'd  climb  up  and  then  dip  for  them 
with  a  devilish  swoop — his  machine  gun  playing  a 
devil's  tattoo  on  the  fellow  below.  Six  times  he  got 
his  man,  and  then  I  saw  them  close  in  on  him — not 
two  to  one  or  ten  to  one — it  was  twenty  to  one !  He 
didn't  have  a  chance.  It  was  a  crime.  If  our  fellows 
had  just  had  half  as  many  machines,  they'd  have  won 
hands  down.  There  were  only  nine  of  them  in  the  fight 
against  fifty  of  the  enemy — " 

"How  many  of  the  enemy  all  told  did  they  account 
for?"  Hood  asked  sharply. 

"God  knows — I  couldn't  take  it  all  in.  But  I  saw 
fifteen  of  them  go  down.  There  wasn't  one  of  our 
men  that  failed  to  score.  They  fought  like  devils.  I 
230 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

never  saw  such  skill.  I  never  saw  such  daring.  I'm 
proud  I'm  a  citizen  of  this  Republic.  We  gave  the 
world  the  aeroplane  and  we're  going  to  show  them  how 
to  use  it  before  we  get  through!" 

The  General  scribbled  an  order  and  handed  it  to  the 
birdman. 

"Take  that  to  the  commander  at  Fort  Hamilton, 
and  report  to  me  at  Patchogue,  my  new  headquarters." 

The  birdman  touched  his  goggled  cap,  his  assistant 
started  the  engines  and  in  a  minute  the  great  bird  was 
swinging  into  the  sky.  With  two  graceful  circles 
mounting  steadily  she  straightened  her  course  for  the 
Narrows  and  Vassar  turned  to  the  General. 

"You  will  retreat  to  Patchogue?" 

"There's  no  other  course  possible.  We  can't  fight 
the  guns  of  those  ships.  They  can  land  at  their  leisure. 
My  hope  is  that  they  will  be  delayed  by  the  weather. 
God  may  help  us  a  little  if  Congress  wouldn't." 

"You  want  time  to  intrench?" 

"Yes  and  get  our  artillery  in  position.  If  we  can't 
get  some  big  guns  in  place  to  meet  theirs — it's  no  use. 
I've  asked  the  forts  to  send  me  two  battalions  of  coast 
artillery  organized  for  the  field.  We'll  get  a  battalion 
of  artillery  from  Virginia  by  boat  tomorrow.  Our 
men  are  coming  as  fast  as  they  can  get  here  over 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  miles,  with  our  railroads 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

blocked.  If  the  weather  delays  this  landing  until  we 
can  mass  two  hundred  guns  against  their  four  hun- 
dred we  may  make  a  stand  by  digging  in.  I'll  have  my 
mob  underground  by  tomorrow  night  in  some  sort  of 
fashion.  If  they  give  me  a  week — it  may  take  some 
time  to  smoke  me  out — " 

"It's  breezing  up !"  Vassar  interrupted  excitedly. 

"And  it's  from  the  right  point  too,  thank  God," 
the  General  responded.  "I  could  have  shouted  when 
I  heard  the  first  strains  of  that  band  floating  in  from 
sea." 

Already  the  sea  was  roaring  with  a  new  angry  note. 
The  barometers  on  the  armada  had  given  the  signal 
too.  The  mighty  fleet  was  standing  far  out  to  sea  now 
awaiting  a  more  favorable  moment  to  spring  on  the 
land  that  lay  at  the  mercy  of  their  great  guns. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  General  hastened  tc  give  orders  for  the  re- 
tirement. By  noon  the  next  day  his  battle- 
line  stretched  from  Patchogue  through  Holts- 
ville  to  Port  Jefferson  and  a  hundred  thousand  men 
were  wielding  pick  and  shovel  with  savage  determina- 
tion. There  was  one  thing  these  men  didn't  lack  what- 
ever was  missing  in  their  equipment.  They  hadn't 
enough  guns.  They  had  no  uniforms — save  on  the 
handful  of  regulars  sprinkled  among  them.  They  hadn't 
much  ammunition.  They  did  have  courage.  They 
were  there  to  do  and  die. 

For  three  days  the  wind  blew  a  steady  gale  from 
the  southwest  and  piled  the  white  foaming  breakers 
high  on  the  sand  dunes. 

Through  the  pounding  surf  the  sea  lifted  our 
bloated  dead  until  they  lay  in  grim  blue  heaps  on 
the  white  sands  at  low  tide.  General  Hood  despatched 
Vassar  to  see  that  they  were  buried.  He  piled  them 
in  big  trenches  one  on  top  of  the  other. 

The  wind  died  to  a  gentle  caress  as  Vassar  stood  and 
watched  them  dumped  into  unmarked  trenches — brave 
233 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

boys  whose  lives  we  could  have  saved  with  a  few  paltry 
millions  spent  in  preparation. 

His  thoughts  were  bitter. 

Had  we  been  prepared  no  nation  on  earth  had  dared 
attack  us.  Our  fighting  force  in  men  would  fill  an  army 
of  16,000,000.  Our  strength  in  money  was  greater 
than  Continental  Europe  combined.  We  had  the  men. 
vWe  had  the  money.  We  were  just  not  ready — that  was 
all.  yVe  could  have  whipped  combined  Europe  had  we 
been  prepared,  and  combined  Europe,  knowing  this, 
would  have  courted  our  favor  with  bows  and  smiles. 

The  thin  line  of  the  new  moon  broke  through  the 
soft  fleece  of  clouds  and  the  stars  carae  out  in  countless 
thousands.  The  lights  were  playing  far  out  at  sea  too, 
the  big  searchlights  of  the  scouts  and  battle  cruisers. 
They  flashed  on  the  grave  diggers  now,  held  steady  for 
a  moment  and  swung  in  search  of  guns.  They  were 
not  interested  in  the  dead. 

Vassar's  heart  went  out  in  a  throb  of  pity  as  he 
watched  the  scene — pity  for  the  men  whom  a  mighty 
nation  had  murdered  for  nothing — pity  for  the  well- 
meaning  but  foolish  men  and  women  whose  childish 
theories  of  peace  had  made  this  stupendous  crime  pos- 
sible. 

He  thought  too  with  the  keenest  pang  of  the   an- 
guish  that   would   come   to   the   heart    of   the   woman 
234 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

he  loved  when  the  magnitude  of  this  betrayal  of  a 
nation  crushed  her  soul.  Men  like  Barker  and  Pike 
would  continue  their  parrot  talk  perhaps  until  Death 
called  them.  The  heart  of  Virginia  Holland  would  be 
crushed  by  this  appalling  tragedy.  If  he  could  only 
take  her  in  his  arms  and  whisper  his  love! 

At  dawn  next  morning  Vassar  stayed  to  watch  from 
the  hills  the  landing  of  the  armada.  They  had  scorned 
to  waste  a  shot  from  their  big  guns  to  cover  the  land- 
ing. It  was  unnecessary.  Their  airmen  had  recon- 
noitered  and  reported  the  defending  army  miles  away 
hastily  digging  their  trenches. 

"Good!"  the  imperial  commander  replied  on  receiv- 
ing this  report.  "The  bigger  and  longer  their  trenches, 
the  bigger  the  battl'e.  What  we  want  is  one  fight  and 
that  settles  it." 

Through  four  days  the  landing  proceeded  with 
marvelous  precision,  each  man  at  his  post.  The  whole 
great  movement  went  forward  without  a  hitch  with 
scarcely  an  accident  to  mar  its  almost  festive  char- 
acter. 

Twenty-five  huge  transports  lay  in  the  offing  dis- 
charging their  thousands  of  troops  from  barges  and 
lighters.  The  men  swarmed  on  the  sands  like  locusts. 
Nothing  had  been  left  to  chance.  Nothing  had  been  for- 
gotten. They  had  cavalry  in  thousands — huge  artillery 
235 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

that  covered  acres.  Fifty  magnificent  horses  were 
hitched  to  a  single  gun  of  the  largest  type.  Their  food 
supplies  were  apparently  exhaustless.  Each  regiment 
had  its  moving  kitchens,  its  laundry  wagons,  its  bakery. 

The  signal  corps  were  already  stringing  their  wires. 
A  wireless  plant  had  been  in  communication  with  the 
commander  on  the  flagship  since  the  work  of  landing 
began. 

When  the  last  ship  had  discharged  her  cargo,  it  was 
known  that  four  full  army  corps,  each  with  complete 
equipment  of  cavalry,  artillery  and  machine  guns,  had 
been  landed  and  that  this  first  division  of  the  invading 
host  consisted  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  officers  and  men — every  one  of  whom  spoke 
good  English  as  well  as  his  native  tongue. 

The  news  spread  with  lightning  rapidity  through 
the  army  of  defense  and  on  past  their  lines  into  the 
terror-stricken  city.  The  thousands  of  half-mad 
refugees  who  had  fled  to  the  country  began  now  to 
turn  again  toward  New  York.  They  had  slept  in  the 
fields  and  woods  for  more  than  a  week.  Their  con- 
dition was  pitiful  and  their  suffering  a  source  of  con- 
stant worry  to  the  officers. 

On  the  day  that  the  invaders  began  their  march  from 
the  beach  to  form  on  the  turnpike  for  their  final  sweep 
against  the  trenches,  Hood  had  massed  from  all  sources 
236 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

two  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  to  defend  his  trenches 
against  more  than  five  hundred  of  the  enemy.  What 
the  range  and  caliber  of  these  hostile  guns  might  be 
he  could  only  guess.  He  knew  one  thing  with  painful 
certainty — whatever  their  range  and  caliber  might  be 
they  were  manned  by  veteran  artillerymen  who  had 
fought  them  for  years  under  the  hideous  conditions  of 
modern  war.  Not  a  man  in  his  army  had  ever  been 
under  the  fire  of  modern  artillery.  That  his  gunners 
would  give  a  good  account  of  themselves,  however,  he 
had  not  the  slightest  doubt. 

The  rub  would  come  when  they  began  to  fall. 
Trained  men  to  take  their  places  were  not  to  be  had. 
If  it  should  come  to  cold  steel,  he  could  trust  the  raw 
volunteers  in  his  trenches  to  defend  their  homes  against 
a  horde  of  devils.  The  trouble  was  but  a  handful  of 
his  men  were  equipped  with  bayonets. 

He  had  just  inspected  his  lines  and  given  his  final 
instructions  to  his  brigade  commanders  when  an  ex- 
traordinary procession  marched  into  his  lines  from 
Brooklyn,  headed  by  the  Honorable  Plato  Barker  and 
the  Reverend  Dr.  A.  Cuthbert  Pike,  still  president  of 
the  Peace  Union. 

The  General  refused  to  see  or  speak  to  them.     Pike 
sought  Vassar  and  begged  him  as  an  old  political  asso- 
ciate of  Barker's  to  secure  ten  minutes'  interview. 
237 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I  assure  you,  Congressman,"  Pike  insisted  in  his 
nervous  fidgety  way,  "that  Barker  may  be  able  to  open 
negotiations  with  the  invaders  if  you  will  let  us  through 
the  lines!" 

Vassar  sought  for  ten  minutes  to  dissuade  Pike  from 
his  purpose.  His  faith  was  unshaken — in  sheer 
asinine  fatuity  it  was  sublime.  It  was  so  ridiculous 
that  the  young  leader  decided  that  the  best  thing  that 
could  happen  to  the  country  was  to  get  both  Barker 
and  Pike  inside  the  enemy's  lines. 

Barker  had  not  been  able  to  reach  New  York  for 
the  Peace  Jubilee.  He  had  regarded  this  great  work 
of  his  career  complete — crowned  with  glorious  success. 
He  had  passed  on  to  greater  things.  So  remarkable 
had  been  his  triumph  in  the  Parliament  of  Man,  so  com- 
plete the  vindication  of  his  theories  of  arbitration  and 
moral  suasion  as  a  substitute  for  war,  that  he  had  been 
able  to  raise  the  price  of  his  Chautauqua  lecture  fees  to 
five  hundred  dollars  guarantee  and  one-third  the  gate 
receipts. 

When  the  tragic  crash  came  which  threatened  at  one 
stroke  to  dislocate  his  process  of  reasoning  and  destroy 
his  lecture  bookings  at  the  same  moment,  he  was  at  the 
little  town  of  Winona,  Indiana,  lecturing  to  five  thou- 
sand enraptured  Chautauqua  peace  enthusiasts.  He 
had  just  finished  counting  the  gate  receipts,  twenty-five 
238 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hundred  dollars  on  the  day.  His  share  was  five  hun- 
dred dollars  and  the  half  of  the  remaining  thousand, 
making  fifteen  hundred  dollars — the  largest  fee  ever 
received  by  a  lecturer  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

With  a  regretful  look  at  their  pile,  he  was  congratu- 
lating the  management  on  having  so  much  left  over 
after  he  had  been  paid,  when  the  astounding  message 
was  read  announcing  the  insurrection  of  two  hundred 
thousand  armed  foreigners,  their  capture  of  the  Pres- 
ident, his  Cabinet,  the  Capitol  and  the  fall  of  the  cities. 

The  great  man  laughed. 

"It's  a  huge  hoax,  my  friends !"  he  shouted  in  sooth- 
ing tones.  "A  wag  is  putting  up  a  joke  on  me — that's 
all.  I'm  an  old  timer.  I  take  these  things  as  they 
come — don't  worry." 

His  soothing  words  quieted  the  crowd  for  an  hour 
until  the  second  message  arrived  announcing  the  sur- 
render of  Chicago,  and  St.  Louis  to  the  same  mysteri- 
ous power  and  announcing  that  the  landing  from  a 
great  armada  of  the  hostile  army  was  hourly  expected 
at  New  York. 

The  silver-tongued  orator  at  once  took  up  his  burden 
and  hastened  East  to  meet  the  coming  foe. 

He  lifted  his  hand  in  solemn  invocation  over  the 
vast  throng  of  panic-stricken  hearers  as  he  took  his 
departure. 

239 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Be  of  good  cheer,  my  friends !"  he  cried.  "I  have 
always  held  the  high  faith  that  if  we  appeal  to  the  heart 
of  the  misguided  foe  who  invades  our  soil  we  can  make 
him  a  good  American.  I,  for  one,  will  set  my  life  on 
the  issue.  I  will  go  as  your  ambassador  to  this  foe. 
He  is  a  man  of  the  same  hopes  and  faith  even  as  you 
and  I.  Touched  by  the  same  divine  influences  that 
have  lifted  us  from  the  barbarism  of  war  we  can  save 
him  also! 

"Have  no  fear — this  is  all  senseless  panic.  Per- 
sonally I  do  not  believe  this  wild  canard  of  a  foreign 
invasion.  Our  cities  may  be  the  victims  of  a  wide 
conspiracy  of  dissatisfied  Socialists  and  Anarchists — 
but  a  foreign  foe — bah!  I  go  to  meet  him  with  faith 
serene !" 

Pike  related  the  story  of  this  scene  with  a  hush  of 
awe  in  his  voice  as  if  he  had  seen  a  vision  of  the  living 
God  and  the  sight  had  stricken  him  partly  dumb. 

Vassar  appealed  finally  to  the  General  to  give  them 
a  pass  through  the  lines. 

"Tell  those  two  windbags  to  go  through  my  lines  if 
they  wish — I  don't  give  a  damn  where  they  go,"  Hood 
snapped.  "I  only  hope  and  pray  that  a  friendly 
bayonet  lets  the  air  out  of  them  so  that  we  shall  never 
hear  them  again.  I  won't  see  them.  I  won't  speak  to 
them.  I  won't  give  them  a  scrap  of  paper.  If  they 
240 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

dare  to  pass  with  any  fool  proposition  of  their  dis- 
ordered brains,  it's  their  affair — not  mine.  Tell  them 
to  get  out  of  this  camp  quick — I  don't  care  whch  way 
they  go." 

At  Pike's  solicitation  Vassar  escorted  Barker 
through  the  lines  and  watched  the  pair  disappear  arm 
in  arm  down  the  turnpike  toward  Southampton. 

They  walked  five  miles  before  they  found  a  con- 
veyance. They  tried  to  hire  a  rig  from  a  farmer.  He 
refused  to  move  at  any  price — even  after  Barker  ex- 
plained who  he  was  and  the  tremendous  import  of  his 
mission. 

Through  much  dickering  they  succeeded  in  buying 
of  him  an  old  horse  that  had  been  turned  out  to  graze. 
The  Long  Islander  drove  a  hard  bargain.  After  loud 
protests,  and  finally  denunciation  for  his  lack  of 
patriotism,  Barker  counted  out  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  of  his  las-t  lecture  fee.  He  still  carried  the 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  cash  in  his  inside  pocket. 

They  tried  in  vain  to  find  another  horse.  For  this 
one  they  had  no  saddle.  As  Barker  was  getting  stout, 
and  puffed  painfully  at  the  hills,  Tittle  Pike  insisted 
that  he  ride. 

"You  first,  Brother  Pike — "  the  orator  maintained. 

"No — no — Brother  Barker,  you  ride,  I  can  walk!" 
Pike  protested. 

241 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

They  finally  compromised  on  the  principles  of  the 
peace  propaganda  and  both  of  them  mounted  the  old 
steed — the  silver-tongued  orator  in  front  and  his  faith- 
ful henchman  behind  holding  to  his  ample  waist. 

The  compromise  worked  until  the  horse  got  tired  of 
it.  At  the  end  of  an  hour's  journey  he  refused  to  move 
another  inch,  bucked  and  threw  them  both  in  a  heap. 
In  vain  they  tried  to  move  him.  He  not  only  refused 
to  carry  double,  he  bucked  and  threw  Barker,  who 
ventured  to  mount  alone.  To  Pike's  horror  the  great 
orator  lost  his  temper,  swore  a  mighty  oath  and  smote 
the  beast  with  a  gold-headed  cane  which  he  had  re- 
ceived as  a  token  of  his  supremacy  as  an  advocate  of 
peace. 

They  now  had  the  horse  on  their  hands  as  an  en- 
cumbrance. Barker  refused  to  let  him  loose.  He  was 
of  a  thrifty  turn  of  mind  even  in  a  crisis.  He  de- 
termined to  ship  that  horse  West  and  make  him  earn 
the  two  fifty.  So  leading  the  steed,  with  stout  hearts 
still  undaunted,  the  two  apostles  passed  on  toward  the 
coming  foe. 


CHAPTER  XXVHI 

WHEN  the  unique  voluntary  peace  delegation 
finally  reached  the  headquarters  of  the  im- 
perial army,  the  commander  was  conducting 
a  prayer  meeting.  They  must  wait. 

They  waited  with  joy. 

Pike's  little  wizened  face  beamed  with  good  will  to 
men.  From  the  moment  he  heard  that  the  army  was 
at  prayers  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  final  outcome  of 
their  mission. 

He  turned  once  more  to  the  soldier  who  had  ar- 
rested and  brought  them  in. 

"Your  General  always  leads  the  service?"  he  asked 
genially. 

"Always— before  a  battle—" 

"Of— yes,  yes,  I  see— I  see—"  Pike  fluttered. 

"If  it's  going  to  be  a  real  battle,"  the  man  continued, 
"he  prays  all  night  in  his  tent  sometimes.  For  this 
little  skirmish  we're  going  into,  I  don't  think  the  ser- 
vice will  last  more  than  ten  minutes." 

Pike  didn't  like  this  soldier's  conversation.  He  had 
a  rude  way  of  smiling  while  he  talked.  The  President 
243 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

of  the  Peace  Union  decided  to  withhold  further  con- 
versation with  him. 

To  the  amazement,  of  Barker  and  Pike  the  divine 
services  suddenly  ended  in  a  shout.  The  sinister  brown- 
ish-gray hosts  that  knelt  in  prayer  leaped  to  their  feet 
with  a  fierce  cry  that  rent  the  heavens: 

"For  God  and  Emperor !" 

The  Peace  delegates  were  slightly  distressed  by  this 
strange  ending  of  a  prayer  meeting.  It  had  an  un- 
canny sound.  There  was  something  about  the  leap 
and  shout  too  that  suggested  the  rush  of  hosts  into 
battle. 

However,  they  were  nothing  daunted.  God  was  with 
them.  At  least  Pike  knew  that  the  Almighty  was  with 
him.  Since  Barker's  fall  and  oath  and  blows  on  that 
horse's  head  he  had  moments  of  doubts  about  the 
orator's  perfect  purity  of  faith.  Still  for  one  right- 
eous man  the  Lord  would  spare  a  city! 

Pike  brushed  the  dust  from  his  black  broadcloth 
suit,  adjusted  his  limp,  dirt-smeared  white  bow  tie  and 
made  ready  to  meet  the  foe  with  a  plea  that  could 
not  be  shaken. 

Barker  was  so  absorbed  in  thought  preparing  his 
noble  address  that  he  remained  oblivious  to  his  dis- 
hevelled condition.  His  silk  hat  had  been  crushed  in 
the  second  fall,  and  refused  to  be  straightened.  It 
244 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

was  this  fact  that  had  caused  him  to  lose  his  temper 
and  smite  the  horse. 

His  broken  tile  drooped  on  one  side  in  a  painfully 
funny  way  that  worried  Pike.  He  gently  removed 
the  great  man's  hat  and  tried  to  straighten  it. 

"Permit  me,  Brother  Barker,"  he  sajd  nervously. 
"Your  hat's  a  little  out  of  plumb." 

Barker's  moon-like  face  was  beaming  now  with  in- 
spiration. He  made  no  objection.  He  was  used  to 
being  fussed  over  by  women  and  preachers.  Barker 
turned  his  horse  over  to  an  obliging  army  hostler  and 
took  Pike's  arm  from  his  habit  of  being  escorted 
through  crowds  to  the  platform. 

The  soldier  led  them  without  further  ceremony  to 
the  tent  of  the  commander  of  the  advancing  army. 

From  the  pomp  and  ceremony,  salutes  and  clicking 
heels,  the  peace  pioneers  knew  that  they  were  being 
ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  Commander-in-chief. 

General  Villard,  who  had  dashed  from  Waldron's  side 
to  assume  first  command,  came  out  laughing  to  meet 
them — a  tall,  stately  figure,  booted  and  spurred — his 
entire  staff  following.  He  carried  a  silver-mounted 
riding-whip  in  his  hand  and  looked  as  if  he  had  been 
born  in  the  saddle. 

"You  bear  a  message  under  a  flag  of  truce  from  the 
enemy?"  he  asked  sharply. 

245 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Barkex  bowed  graciously,  removing  his  lame  tile,  and 
stood  holding  it  on  a  level  with  his  shoulder  after  the 
fashion  of  committees  at  the  laying  of  cornerstones. 
His  bald  head  and  smiling  open  face  beamed.  He 
plunged  at  once  into  his  eloquent  address. 

"We  have  come,  General,"  he  began  suavely,  "in 
the  name  of  a  hundred  million  happy,  peaceful  citizens 
of  this  great  Republic  to  bid  you  welcome  to  our 
shores.  Our  vast  and  glorious  domain,  washed  by  two 
oceans,  stretching  from  the  frozen  peaks  of  Alaska  to 
the  eternal  sunshine  and  flowers  of  the  tropics,  is  large 
enough  for  all  who  bless  us  with  their  coming. 

"We  welcome  you  as  brothers !  We  want  you  to  stay 
with  us.  We  offer  you  the  blessings  of  peace  and  free- 
dom. We  do  not  meet  you  with  guns.  We  come  with 
smiles  and  flowers,  extend  our  hands  and  say:  'God 
bless  you!'" 

The  orator  was  swept  away  with  the  melodious 
sound  of  his  own  voice.  He  replaced  his  crushed  hat 
and  extended  his  hand  in  a  smile  of  glowing  en- 
thusiasm. 

With  a  sudden  crash  thie  silver-mounted  riding-whip 
whistled  through  the  air  and  tore  through  the  orator's 
tile.  The  battered  hat  fell  into  pieces  and  dropped  to 
the  ground  revealing  an  ugly  red  lane  across  the  great 
man's  shining  bald  pate. 

246 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Barker  was  too  dumfounded  to  dodge  or  protest. 
The  thing  happened  with  such  swiftness,  it  had  stunned 
him  into  silence.  -<  •  • 

Pike  danced  nervously  on  first  one  foot  and  then 
the  other,  lifting  his  hands  in  little  attempts  at 
apologies. 

"Hats  off  in  the  presence  of  your  superiors !"  the 
General  thundered. 

Pike's  hat  was  already  off.  He  hadn't  ventured  to 
put  it  on.  Still  he  ducked  his  head  instinctively  and 
then  rushed  into  the  breach. 

"My  dear  General,"  he  pleaded.  "You  do  not  un^ 
derstand,  I  am  sure.  No  possible  offense  could  have 
been  intended  by  my  distinguished  colleague.  It  is  the 
custom  of  our  country  often  to  speak  with  hats  on  in 
the  open  air.  The  Honorable  Plato  Barker  is  a 
veteran  outdoor  speaker,  your  Excellency.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  America — " 

"That  is  nothing  to  me,"  the  General  curtly  in- 
terrupted. "He  stands  in  the  presence  of  an  officer  of 
his  Imperial  Majesty's  Army.  Your  greatest  civilian 
is  my  inferior.  Keep  that  in  mind  when  in  the  pres- 
ence of  your  superiors — proceed !" 

Barker  was  too  astonished  and  hurt  to  say  more. 
For  the  first  time  in  his  illustrious  career  as  a  peddler 
of  words,  he  had  failed  to  move  his  audience  to  ac- 
247 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

cept  his  wares  at  any  price.  His  world  had  collapsed. 
He  could  only  rub  the  swelling  red  line  on  his  head  and 
glance  uneasily  about  his  unpromising  surroundings. 

The  preacher's  hour  had  struck.  He  rose  grandly 
to  the  occasion.  His  manner  was  the  quintessence  of 
courtly  deference,  nervously  anxious  deference. 

"My  name  is  Pike,"  be  began  tremblingly — "  the 
Reverend  A.  Cuthbert  Pike,  D.D.,  president  of  the 
American  Peace  Union — " 

"Proceed,  Cuthbert !"  was  the  short  answer. 

"We  have  come,  your  Excellency — "  he  paused  and 
bowed  low — "to  initiate  here  today  for  all  the  world 
a  constructive  policy  that  will  eliminate  the  necessity 
for  war.  Our  plan  is  the  appeal  to  reason. 

"We  marvel  at  the  amazing  delusion  that  has  led 
Europe  into  this  unprovoked  and  unnecessary  assault. 
Nobody  wants  war — least  of  all  I'm  sure  the  great 
General  who  knows  its  full  horrors. 

"The  only  question,  therefore,  is  how  best  to  prevent 
it.  This  nation  has  always  been  too  strong,  too  great 
in  the  consciousness  of  her  strength,  to  desire  war. 
We  have  sixteen  million  men  ready  to  die  at  our  call! 
Why  should  we  sacrifice  their  precious  lives?  To  what 
end  if  we  can  by  any  means  save  them? 

"The   prime    cause,   your   Excellency — "    again   he 
bowed  low — "of  war  is  excessive  armament — " 
248 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  General  laughed  heartily,  and  adjusted  his 
glasses  for  a  better  look  at  Pike.  The  little  man  was 
slightly  flustered  at  this  act  of  uncertain  import,  but 
went  on  bravely  in  spite  of  Barker's  look  of  dejection. 

"We  proclaim  it  to  all  nations  that  we  are  not  ready 
to  fight,  and  that  we  are  glad  of  it  because  it  is  not 
possible  in  this  condition  for  us  to  threaten  or  bully 
anyone !  An  unarmed  man  has  ten  chances  to  one  over 
the  armed  man  in  keeping  out  of  trouble!" 

Again  the  General  laughed  and  looked  the  preacher 
over  from  head  to  foot. 

"Boundaries,"  Pike  proceeded,  "when  armed  con- 
stantly provoke  clashes  of  the  forces  on  either  side. 
Boundaries  unarmed,  as  the  long  line  Between  us  and 
Canada,  promote  fellowship  and  good  will. 

"We  say  to  your  Excellency,  come  let  us  reason  to- 
gether. We  are  determined  not  to  be  dragged  into 
war.  We  have  negotiated  thirty  treaties  with  the 
nations  of  the  world,  some  of  whom  your  army  repre- 
sents, providing  for  a  year's  delay  before  hostilities 
can  begin. 

"We  claim  our  rights  under  these  solemn  treaties 
and  ask  of  you  an  armistice  for  twelve  months  for  the 
discussion  of  our  differences. 

"Name  your  demands  and  we  will  lay  them  before 
our  Congress.  Tell  us  your  real  mission  and  we  will 
249 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

help  you  to  accomplish  it.     Make  us  your  friends  and 
fellow  workers.     Why  have   you   come?" 

"I'll  tell  you,"  snapped  the  General.  "For  two 
hundred  years  you  have  been  keeping  a  great  pigsty  on 
this  continent,  in  which  swine  have  rooted  and  fattened 
on  the  abundance  of  nature  which  you  haven't  had 
the  brains  to  conserve. 

"Well — it's  time  to  clean  up  and  make  sausage! 
We  have  come  for  that  work.  We  have  come  to  teach 
a  race  of  slatterns  the  first  principles  of  law,  order 
and  human  efficiency.  We  have  come  to  clean  this 
pigpen,  put  swine-herders  into  aprons  and  give  them 
the  honor  of  serving  their  superiors — and  therefore 
for  the  first  time  in  life  doing  something  worth 
while. 

lj  "You  are  sick  with  overeating  and  much  ^prosperity. 
Our  Emperor  sends  you  a  tonic  of  blood  and  iron  war- 
ranted to  cure  all  ills.  Our  benign  sovereign  is  the 
world's  physician.  He  takes  his  crown  and  divine  com- 
mission from  God  alone.  On  him  the  Divine  Spirit  has 
descended.  In  his  luminous  mind  is  the  wisdom  of  the 
ages.  He  who  dares  to  oppose  his  royal  will  shall  be 
ground  to  powder  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  his  soldiers. 
You  speak  of  a  hundred  million  people  as  if  their 
opinion  was  of  the  slightest  value.  Public  opinion  is 
the  source  of  public  ills.'  You  speak  of  treaties. 
250 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Treaties  are  the  thin  disguises  by  which  divinely  chosen 
leaders  conceal  their  ultimate  aims ! 

"Might  is  right  and  the  right  can  only  be  decided 
by  the  sword.  War  in  itself  is  the  fiery  furnace  that 
tries  man's  character.  The  dross  perishes.  The  pure 
gold  shines  with  greater  splendor.  Efforts  to  abolish 
war  are  foolish  and  immoral.  Peace  is  not  our  aim  or 
desire.  The  sight  of  suffering  does  one  good.  The  in- 
fliction of  suffering  does  one  more  good.  This  war  will 
be  conducted  as  ruthlessly  as  science  and  human  genius 
can  make  possible — " 

He  paused  and  turned  to  an  orderly. 

"The  bald-headed  one  to  the  bakery!  He  has  for- 
feited his  life  by  daring  to  purchase  a  horse  that  be- 
longs to  his  Majesty.  I  graciously  spare  his  life.  Tell 
my  head  cook  to  make  him  a  scullion.  If  he's  any  good 
report  to  me  at  the  end  of  the  month  and  I'll  promote 
him  to  the  honor  of  acting  as  my  valet.  He  has  a 
beautiful  voice.  He  could  be  trained  to  yodel — " 

Barker  lifted  his  hand  to  protest  and  the  '.orderly 
kicked  him  into  a  trot.  When  he  turned  to  protest, 
the  bayonet  changed  his  mind. 

Pike  watched  his  chief  disappear  with  a  groan  of 
amazement. 

The  General  and  his  staff  gathered  around  the 
Reverend  President  of  the  Peace  Union  with  jovial 
251 


THE  FALL  OFt  A  NATION 

faces.  They  were  inclined  to  like  him.  He  had  con- 
tributed something  new  to  the  hilarity  of  nations. 
They  put  on  their  glasses,  adjusted  and  removed  them, 
adjusted  them  again,  looked  him  up  and  down,  turned 
him  around  and  wagged  their  heads  gravely. 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  the  Commander  laughed,  "we're 
all  agreed  that  it's  a  rare  specimen — the  real  question 
is — what  is  it?" 

Each  answer  brought   a   roar  of  laughter. 

"It  looks  like  a  man—" 

"Can't  be!" 

"It  might  have  been  once!" 

"But  not  now !" 

"A  new  microbe?" 

"Sure — that's  it — the  microbe  Pacificus  americanus !" 

The  preacher  fidgeted  in  a  sorry  effort  to  smile  with 
his  tormentors. 

"I  suppose,  of  course,  gentlemen,"  Pike  fluttered, 
"as  I'm  a  tenderfoot  you  will  have  your  little  jokes — 
it's  all  in  the  day's  work — so  to  speak — as  it  were!" 

The  Commander  turned  to  a  sergeant. 

"Put  an  apron  on  this  little  man  and  make  him  a 
dishwasher — tin  dishes — he  might  ruin  my;  silver — " 

The  officers  roared. 

"If  he's   any  good  I'll  make  a  butler  out   of  him. 
I  like  his  whiskers.  They're  distinctly  English — " 
252 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

With  a  loud  guffaw  the  staff  dispersed  and  the  Gen- 
eral turned  to  his  tent. 

Pike  danced  a  little  jig  in  his  effort  to  recall  the 
judge  and  correct  the  error  of  his  sentence. 

The  sergeant  gave  him  a  resounding  smack  on  the 
side  of  his  head  that  spun  him  round  like  a  top. 

Pike  was  livid  with  rage.  He  bristled  like  a  bantam 
rooster  for  a  minute  to  the  amazement  of  his  guard. 

"Don't  do  that!  Don't  do  it — don't  do  it  again! 
Upon  my  soul,  this  surpasses  human  belief,  sir!  I 
shall  denounce  the  whole  proceeding  in  a  series  of 
resolutions  that  will  resound  over  this  nation — mark 
my  word!" 

The  soldier  waited  until  Pike's  breath  ran  short  and 
then  kicked  him  three  feet,  lifting  him  clear  of  the 
ground.  When  the  preacher  struck  he  fell  flat  on  his 
face. 

The  blow  took  out  of  him  what  wind  there  was  left. 

He  scrambled  to  his  feet  and  edged  out  of  reach. 

"I — I — return — good  for  evil,  sir — "  he  stammered 
at  last.  "I  bless  them  that  despitefully  use  me — God 
bless  you!" 

The  soldier  snorted  with  rage  and  gave  him  another 
kick,  crying :  "The  same  to  you !  And  many  of  'em !" 

When  Pike  scrambled  to  his  feet  again  and  wiped 
the  dust  out  of  his  lips  he  shook  his  head  in  despair : 
253 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"God  Wess  my  soul!     God  bless  mj  soul!" 

The  Sergeant  grinned  in  his  face. 

"Cheer  up,  Cuthbert,  you'll  soon  be  dead!" 

Ten  minutes  later  he  thrust  poor  Pike  into  the 
kitchen  inclosure  and  shouted  to  the  cook: 

"The  sooner  you  kill  him  the  better — go  as  far  as 
you  like!" 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

TO  Vassar  sleep  had  been  impossible  for  the  past 
two  nights.     He  dozed  for  an  hour  during  the 
day  from  sheer  exhaustion,  but  the  nearer  the 
hour  came  for  the  test  of  strength  between  the  opposing 
armies  on  which  hung  the  fate  of  a  hundred  million 
people,  the  deeper  became  his  excitement. 

All  life  seemed  to  mirror  itself  in  a  vast  luminous 
crystal  before  his  eyes — the  past,  the  presfent,  the 
future. 

He  nodded  in  the  saddle  as  he  watched  the  construc- 
tion of  the  second  line  of  entrenchments  five  miles  in  the 
rear  of  the  first.  He  wondered  at  the  long  reach  of  that 
first  possible  retreat.  It  was  an  ominous  sign.  It  revealed 
the  fear  in  the  heart  of  the  American  commander. 

He  fell  into  a  fevered  dream.  Far  up  in  the  sky  he 
saw  the  sneering  face  of  the  Devil  bending  low  over 
our  shores  and  from  his  right  hand  shaking  dice.  The 
dice  were  the  skulls  of  men.  They  rattled  over  the 
wide  plain  of  our  coming  battlefield.  The  hideous 
face  twisted  with  demoniac  laughter  as  he  shook  the 
skulls  and  threw  again. 

255 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  watched  the  game  with  bated  breath.  The  count 
was  made  at  last  and  we  had  lost! 

And  yet  somehow  it  was  well  with  the  dreamer's 
soul.  An  angel  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
from  the  field  on  which  the  skulls  lay. 

He  looked  at  the  angel  and  it  was  the  face  of  his  be- 
loved. With  a  cry  of  joy  he  woke  to  find  a  courier  by 
his  side  with  a  message  from  General  Hood. 

He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  smiled  for  the  joy  of  the 
dream  that  still  lingered  in  his  heart  and  quickly  read 
the  order. 

To  COLONEL  VASSAR: 

Please  report  immediately  to  the  officer  in  com- 
mand at  Babylon  and  tell  him  to  entrench  his  men 
at  once.  We  shall  make  our  third  and  last  stand 
there. 

(Signed)  HOOD. 

Vassar  scribbled  a  reply  and  turned  his  horse's  head 
to  the  staff  headquarters. 

Babylon  was  home !  He  would  see  his  little  girls  on 
the  eve  of  battle — but  more  than  all  he  hoped  to  see 
Virginia. 

He  was  still  hoping  and  fearing  as  he  delivered  his 
horse  to  the  hostler  and  ordered  an  automobile. 

He  was  just  leaping  into  the  machine  when  Billy 
256 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

appeared  on  his  motorcycle  and  handed  him  a  crumpled 
sealed  note. 

The  boy  saluted,  smiled  and  turned  back. 

It  was  too  good  to  be  true — and  yet  there  it  was 
in  his  hand — a  letter  from  Virginia! 

He  waved  to  the  chauffeur: 

"To  Babylon — headquarters — third  reserves — " 

The  machine  swept  down  the  white  smooth  turnpike 
and  he  settled  into  his  seat  still  holding  the  precious 
message  unopened. 

He  broke  the  seal  at  last  and  read  through  dimmed 
eyes: 

"Come  to  me  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  I 
have  much  to  tell  you.  I  can't  write — " 

There  was  no  formal  address.  There  was  no  name 
signed.  He  kissed  the  delicately  lined  words  and  placed 
the  note  in  his  inside  pocket. 

What  3id  the  foolish  happiness  in  his  soul  mean? 
Could  fate  mock  him  with  an  hour's  joy  and  send  him 
to  his  death  tomorrow?  He  would  ride  where  men  were 
falling  like  leaves  before  the  sun  should  set — there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  that.  He  shut  his  eyes  and  could 
see  only  the  face  of  the  woman  he  loved.  He  wondered 
what  she  would  say?  He  wondered  if  she  would  make 
him  ask  her  forgiveness  for  the  wrong  she  herself  had 
done,  woman-like? 

257 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  would  be  afraid  to  kiss  her  again —  Nonsense ! 
She  couldn't  refuse  her  lips  if  she  loved.  He'd  risk 
it  again  if*  he  died  for  it. 

He  delivered  his  orders  and  turned  without  delay 
for  the  Holland  homestead.  The  flowers  were  in  glo- 
rious bloom  again. 

The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  trees  in  scarlet  and 
purple  glory.  His  father  strolled  thoughtfully  across 
the  lawn  with  one  arm  around  Zonia  and  Marya's  hand 
clasped  in  his. 

As  the  car  turned  into  the  drive  and  swept  toward 
the  house,  the  girls  saw  him  and  rushed  with  cries  of 
joy  to  smother  him  with  kisses. 

"Our  men  are  ready?"  his  father  asked  gravely. 

"To  die — yes — they  are  as  ready  as  they  can  be  with- 
out drill  or  quipment — or  artillery  to  defend  them." 

The  old  man  shook  his  head. 

"And  the  enemy — they  are  many?" 

"A  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  hardened  veterans 
and  the  most  magnificent  equipment  of  the  modern 
world—" 

Old  Andrew  Vassar  lifted  his  hands  in  a  gesture  of 
pain. 

"God  help  us !" 

"Only  He  can  now.     We've  done  our  best — that's 

all—" 

258 


It's  all  love's  victory,  dearest' 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  paused  and  turned  to  Zonia  whispering  softly: 

"Where  is  she?" 

The  girl  nodded  toward  the  rose-embowered 
oak. 

"Waiting  for  you.  Billy  telephoned  us.  She's 
been  there  ever  since." 

Vassar  hurried  across  the  lawn.  The  twilight  was 
deepening  and  the  new  moon  hung  a  half  crescent  in 
the  evening  sky. 

She  rose  as  he  passed  the  trellis  and  stood  smiling 
tenderly  until  he  came  close.  Her  hands  were  clasped 
tightly.  Neither  was  extended  to  greet  him. 

She  lifted  her  eyes  to  his  in  a  long,  tender  gaze, 
deliberately  slipped  both  arms  around  his  neck  and 
kissed  his  lips. 

He  held  her  close  in  a  moment  of  strangling  joy. 
She  lifted  her  lips  to  his  again,  and  spoke  in  tones  so 
low  that  only  the  heart  of  love  could  hear: 

"My  darling — my  own — my  hero — my  mate!  I've 
loved  you  always  from  the  first.  I  was  too  proud  to 
surrender  my  will  and  mind,  my  body  and  soul  to  any 
man.  I  went  away  into  the  mountains  to  fight  it  out 
and  love  conquered,  dear!  I  surrendered  before  I 
knew  that  your  prophetic  soul  was  right  in  sensing  this 
black  hour  in  life.  I'm  glad  I  gave  up  before  I  knew. 
It's  all  love's  victory,  dearest.  I  love  you.  I  love  you 
259 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

— I  love  you — and  now  Death  is  going  to  throw  hi 
shadow  between  us — " 

A  sob  caught  her  voice. 

"But  I  shall  love  you  through  all  eternity  and 
thank  God  for  this  holy  hour  in  which  we  meet  an 
know,  face  to  face — " 

For   two   glorious   Hours   they   sat    and  held   eac 
other's  hands  in  the  soft  light  of  the  half-fledged  moor 

And  then  he  rose,  kissed  her  again  and  swiftly  rod 
into  the  night  toward  the  red  dawn  of  Death. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  grim  gray  wave  of  destruction  from  the 
sand  dunes  had  rolled  into  battleline  and 
spread  out  over  the  green  clothed  hills  and 
valleys  of  the  Island — swiftly,  remorselessly,  with  an 
uncanny  precision  that  was  marvelous. 

The  scouts  were  soaring  in  the  clear  blue  skies  with 
keen  eyes  searching  for  the  position  of  our  guns. 

As  they  found  them,  a  puff  of  black  smoke  streamed 
downward  and  the  distant  officer,  perched  high  on  his 
movable  observation  tower,  took  the  range  and  called 
it  mechanically  to  the  gunners  of  his  battery. 

Our  rifles  cracked  in  vain.  The  birdmen  laughed  and 
paid  no  attention.  We  had  no  high-powered,  high- 
angle  guns  that  could  touch  them.  Over  every  sec- 
tion of  our  lines  the  huge  vultures  hung  in  the  air  and 
circled. 

The  giant  guns  miles  away  beyond  the  distant  hills 
toward  Southampton  began  to  roar.  Their  first  shells 
fell  short  from  five  to  six  hundred  yards. 

Our  boys  gazed  over  their  earthworks  and  watched 
the  geysers  of  earth  and  stone  and  smoke  leap  into  the 
261 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

heavens   and   sink   back   in   dull    crashes.      The    wind 
brought  in  the  acid  fumes  of  the  poisonous  gases. 

They  stood  in  silence,  clutching  their  rifles  and  wait- 
ing for  the  word  to  fire. 

The  vultures  circled  again  and  dropped  more  smoke 
balls.  The  invisible  gunners  at  their  places  caught  the 
singsong  call  from  the  tower,  touched  a  wheel  and 
raised  the  noses  of  their  gray  monsters  the  slightest 
bit. 

Again  the  earth  trembled.  The  air  vibrated  with  the 
rush  of  projectiles  like  the  singing  of  telegraph  wires 
far  above  the  heads  of  the  listening  men. 

They  struck  within  a  hundred  yards  of  where  Vas- 
sar  sat  with  the  field  telephone  at  his  ear  awaiting  Gen- 
eral Hood's  orders — a  giant  shell  landed  squarely  in 
our  trenches,  tore  a  cavern  in  the  earth .  sixteen  feet 
deep,  hurling  our  mangled  men  in  every  direction. 
Within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  feet  no  living  thing  could 
be  seen  when  the  smoke  and  dust  had  cleared.  Those 
who  had  not  been  killed  by  stone  and  flying  fragments 
of  iron  had  been  smothered  to  death  where  they  stood 
by  the  deadly  fumes. 

Our  guns  answered  now  in  deep  thunder  peals  that 
shook  the  trenches. 

For  two  hours  without  a  pause  the  artillery  of  both 
armies    sent    their    mighty    chorus    crashing    into    the 
262 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

heavens,  their  missiles  of  death  whistling  through  the 
skies. 

The  fire  of  the  enemy  was  incredibly  accurate.  Their 
shells  struck  our  trenches  with  unerring  certainty — 
and  where  one  struck  there  was  nothing  left  but  an 
ugly  crater  in  the  ground.  They  simply  annihilated 
every  object  in  their  track  and  left  a  mass  of  blackened 
dust  and  pulp. 

Gun   after  gun   of   our  batteries   were   silenced. 

The  vultures  were  ptill  soaring  aloft  calling  the 
range  of  each  concealed  battery  as  the  fight  revealed 
its  place. 

The  battle  had  opened  at  dawn.  By  ten  o'clock 
fifty  pieces  of  our  artillery  had  been  reduced  to 
junk  and  one-third  of  our  trenches  pulverized  into 
shapeless  masses  of  dust,  broken  stone  and  gaping 
caverns. 

Apparently  our  heavy  gun  fire  had  made  no  impres- 
sion on  the  enemy.  Their  long  range  pieces  were  hurl- 
ing death  with  a  steady  clock-like  regularity  that  was 
appalling.  Our  army  was  being  ground  to  dust  with- 
out a  chance  to  strike  their  hidden  foe.  We  had  never 
possessed  an  aviation  corps  of  any  serviceable  strength. 
The  year  before  the  nucleus  of  one  had  been  authorized 
by  Congress.  This  little  group  of  efficient  men  had 
followed  the  fleet  into  the  Pacific  and  the  remaining 
263 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

dozen  had  been  left  to  die  in  our  tragic  meeting  with 
the  armada. 

General  Hood  possessed  but  two  aeroplanes.  It  was 
madness  to  send  them  up  against  two  hundred  of  the 
enemy.  By  an  accident  to  his  machinery  a  taube  had 
fallen  within  our  lines.  The  men  had  been  captured, 
their  uniforms  taken,  and  delivered  to  General  Hood. 
The  machinery  of  the  hostile  aeroplane  was  promptly 
repaired,  our  blond  sky  pilot  forced  himself  into  the 
greenish-gray  suit  and  stood  by  waiting  for  the  chance 
to  rise  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  and  take  his  chance  among 
the  enemy  as  a  spy. 

At  noon  a  wave  of  fog  slowly  crept  in  from  sea  and 
the  guns  had  died  away.  As  the  mist  rolled  over  the 
battlefield  Hood  stood  beside  the  courier  of  the  skies. 

"Up  with  you  now,  boy,  in  this  fog  bank.  Mix  with 
the  enemy  and  take  your  chances.  Stay  until  the 
firing  is  resumed  and  give  me  the  position  of  their  guns. 
I  must  know  whether  we  have  reached  them  with  our 
shells." 

The  birdman  saluted  and  swung  the  taube  into  the 
clouds.  He  circled  toward  the  sea  and  disappeared  in 
the  mists. 

It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  he  landed 
far  in  the  rear  of  our  lines  and  made  his  way  by  auto- 
mobile to  headquarters. 

264 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Hood  sprang  from  his  desk  and  rushed  to  meet 
him. 

"Well?" 

"Got  over  their  lines  all  right,  sir,*'  the  scout  an- 
swered. "Watched  our  shells  for  an  hour.  Not  one 
of  them  fell  closer  than  half  a  mile  short  of  their  bat- 
teries." 

The  General  pressed  his  hand  in  silence. 

"All  right.  It's  as  I  thought.  You're  a  brave  boy, 
my  son.  You're  marked  for  promotion  for  this  day's 
work." 

There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  move  his  lines  five 
miles  back  to  the  second  trenches.  They  were  being 
pounded  into  pulp  without  a  chance  to  strike  back. 

We  had  exhausted  half  our  stock  of  shells  without 
scoring  a  hit.  Our  losses  in  men  and  guns  had  been 
frightful.  The  tragic  feature  of  the  day  was  the  loss 
of  trained  artillerymen  whose  places  could  not  be  filled. 
It  takes  three  years  to  train  the  man  behind  the  gun. 

By  daylight  the  retreat  of  five  miles  had  been 
effected.  The  ground  in  front  was  more  favorable 
here  for  long  range  work.  From  captive  balloons  the 
position  of  the  batteries  could  be  located.  We  hoped 
that  some  of  them  could  be  reached  and  put  out  of 
action.  If  so,  we  would  give  them  a  taste  of  cold  steel. 

All  night  the  great  guns  growled  in  the  distance 
265 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

while  our  shattered  lines  retreated  and  reformed  in  the 
second  intrenchments. 

At  dawn  the  vultures  signalled  the  retreat  and  the 
green-gray  wave  of  Death  rolled  forward  with  incred- 
ible swiftness. 

By  noon  their  greatest  guns,  each  drawn  by  fifty 
magnificent  horses,  had  been  brought  up  and  were 
sweeping  into  position  along  the  low  hills  that  would 
form  their  new  battleline. 

Our  commander  made  up  his  mind  to  pot  at  least  one 
of  those  guns.  He  planted  a  battery  of  heavy  artillery 
to  sweep  the  road  that  curved  gracefully  over  these 
hills.  A  clump  of  trees  concealed  its  presence  from 
the  circling  scouts. 

The  moment  the  huge  siege  gun  swept  into  view — 
its  fifty  horses  plunging  forward  with  steady  leaps, 
their  sides  a  lather  of  white  foam — our  battery  roared 
a  salvo  and  four  shells  sang  in  chorus.  The  gunners 
lifted  their  glasses  and  watched.  Every  shell  struck 
within  dead  range  of  the  long  line  of  plunging  horses. 
A  cloud  of  smoke  and  dust  rose  high  on  the  crest  of 
the  hill  and  when  it  lifted  the  tangled  mass  of  torn  and 
mangled  horses  and  men  blocked  the  way.  A  second 
salvo  landed  squarely  in  the  wreck  and  blew  the  tangled 
mass  into  fragments — the  glasses  could  no  longer  find 
a  moving  object. 

266 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  vultures  circled  above  the  hidden  battery,  their 
signals  flashed  and  then  from  five  different  points  be- 
hind the  hills  the  shells  began  to  shriek.  In  thirty 
minutes  they  were  silenced  and  torn  to  bits.  But  two 
men  were  left  alive  to  reach  headquarters  with  the  brave 
story. 

The  second  battle  began  in  earnest  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  The  pitiful  story  was  repeated.  With 
remorseless  accuracy  their  guns  tore  our  men  to  pieces. 
They  held  their  own  just  half  a  mile  beyond  the  range 
of  our  artillery. 

All  night  our  men  clung  blindly  to  their  position  and 
at  the  dawn  of  the  third  day  the  enemy's  infantry  in 
solid  formation,  their  bayonets  flashing,  moved  swiftly 
and  silently  into  line  for  their  first  charge. 

A  hundred  machine  guns  were  concentrated  to  relieve 
them.  They  formed  at  their  leisure  in  plain  view  of 
our  ragged  trenches.  Our  field  artillery  got  their  range 
and  began  to  pour  a  storm  of  shrapnel  on  their  ranks. 
[They  closed  up  the  gaps  with  clock-like  precision  and 
moved  forward  at  double  quick.  Round  after  round  of 
our  artillery  failed  to  stop  them.  The  ranks  closed 
automatically.  They  were  cheering  now — the  breeze 
wafted  their  cries  across  the  little  valley  that  separated 
them  from  our  trenches : 

"For  God  and  Emperor !" 
267 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

When  the  ranks  in  front  fell,  the  mass  behind  rushed 
over  their  bodies  and  shouted  again : 

"For  God  and  Emperor!" 

Our  machine  guns  were  mowing  them  down  as  wheat 
falls  beneath  the  teeth  of  a  hundred  singing  harvest 
machines  on  the  prairies  of  Minnesota. 

When  the  first  division  had  been  wiped  out  the  sec- 
ond came  rushing  over  their  bodies  as  if  they  had  been 
denied  their  just  honors  in  losing  the  privilege  of 
dying.  The  second  wave  of  green  reached  the  earth 
of  our  trenches  before  the  last  man  fell  and  still  a  third 
wave  was  moving  across  the  valley.  Their  shouts  rang 
a  mighty  chorus  now  in  the  ears  of  our  crouching  men : 

"For  God  and  Emperor!" 

Our  fire  was  held  until  the  third  wave  was  within  a 
hundred  yards.  The  low  words  of  quick  command  from 
charging  officers  could  be  distinctly  heard  as  their 
waving  swords  flashed  in  the  sunlight. 

Vassar  watched  the  thrilling  scene  with  a  smile  of 
admiration.  He  saw  their  flag  now  for  the  first  time — 
a  huge  scarlet  field  of  silk,  in  its  center  an  imperial 
crown  wrought  in  threads  of  gold. 

The  Federated  Monarchs  of  Europe  had  taken  the 
red  emblem  of  the  Socialists  to  proclaim  the  common 
cause  of  royal  blood  against  the  mob,  and  on  it  set  the 
seal  of  imperial  power. 

268 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  cheering,  rushing  wave  rolled  within  fifty  yards 
and  then  from  every  trench  poured  a  sheet  of  blinding 
flame.  So  terrific  was  the  shock,  the  whole  division 
seemed  to  drop  to  their  knees  at  the  same  moment. 
Those  who  had  not  fallen  staggered  as  if  drunk  and 
turned  in  blind  circles  as  if  groping  their  way  in  the 
darkness.  In  five  minutes  the  last  man  of  the  third 
host  had  fallen  and  the  slopes  of  the  hill  below  were 
piled  with  the  dead,  the  wounded  and  dying. 

The  charges  ceased. 

The  big  guns  in  the  distance  beyond  the  hills  broke 
forth  again  in  a  savage  chorus,  continuous  and  infernal 
in  its  incredible  power. 

Vassar  listened  with  new  interest.  There  was  a  deep 
bass  voice  now  in  this  artillery  oratorio  that  had  not 
been  heard  before.  The  monster  guns  were  booming  for 
the  first  time.  The  effects  of  their  explosions  were  ap- 
palling. They  spoke  between  the  roar  of  the  smaller 
guns  as  if  the  basso  were  answering  the  cry  of  a  chorus 
of  superhuman  singers.  A  single  shot  from  one  of  these 
guns  rang  with  the  volume  of  a  salvo  of  ordinary  ar- 
tillery. Their  shells  weighed  two  thousand  pounds — 
two  thousand  pounds  of  dynamite. 

Vassar  heard  one  of  them  coming  toward  the  crest  of 
the  hill  that  was  red  with  heroic  blood.  It  came  through 
the  air  with  the  uncanny  roar  of  an  express  train.  The 
269 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

sound  rose  until  the  heavens  quivered  with  the  howl  of  a 
cyclone. 

And  then  came  the  crash  squarely  in  the  center  of 
our  trenches!  An  explosion  followed  that  rocked  the 
earth  and  sent  a  great  billowing  cloud  of  smoke  and 
dust  high  over  the  treetops  into  the  skies.  Fragments 
of  the  debris  were  hurled  half  a  mile  in  every  direction. 
No  living  thing  was  left  to  tell  the  story  within  a  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  spot.  A  breach  had  been  made  in 
the  trenches  through  which  a  regiment  might  have 
charged  as  over  an  open  field.  For  eighteen  hours  this 
terrific  hail  of  huge  projectiles  continued  without  pause. 
The  dull  thunder  was  incessant  and  its  vibration  shook 
the  world  in  tremors  as  from  an  earthquake. 

With  grim  persistence  our  men  still  clung  to  what 
was  left  of  their  trenches  until  the  night  of  the  second 
day. 

Hood  sullenly  ordered  the  retreat  to  his  last  line  of 
entrenchments  resting  on  Babylon.  The  discovery  of 
the  movement  lead  to  a  fierce  rear  guard  action  with  the 
pursuing  cavalry  of  the  enemy.  Their  great  field 
searchlights  now  swept  the  heavens  and  flooded  every 
open  space  with  deadly  glare. 

The  attacking  cavalry  fell  into  ambush  carefully  pre- 
pared and  were  annihilated.  They  didn't  repeat  the 
attack.  But  our  guns  had  no  sooner  limbered  up  and 
270 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

withdrawn  from  their  position  when  a  squadron  of  the 
new  steel  cavalry,  guided  by  the  searchlights,  charged 
at  full  speed  seventy  miles  an  hour  down  the  turnpike 
straight  into  our  retreating  infantry.  An  armored 
automobile,  spitting  a  storm  of  lead  from  its  machine 
guns,  plunged  headlong  into  a  regiment  of  volunteers, 
worn  and  half-starved  and  ready  to  fall  for  the  lack 
of  sleep.  The  huge  wheels  rolled  over  prostrate  men 
like  a  great  juggernaut,  hurling  others  into  the  fields 
and  dashing  them  among  the  limbs  of  trees. 

The  monster  stopped  at  last  choked  by  the  mangled 
bodies  caught  in  its  machinery.  A  hundred  desperate 
men  swarmed  over  its  sides  and  in  a  fierce  hand  to  hand 
fight  captured  the  car  and  killed  its  crew. 

Again  and  again  through  the  night  of  this  terrible 
retreat  these  tactics  were  repeated.  Not  one  of  the 
six  machines  that  charged  our  lines  ever  returned  to 
tell  the  story.  Not  one  that  charged  failed  to  pile  the 
dead  in  heaps  along  the  white  shining  turnpike. 

The  Holland  house  was  inside  the  third  line.  Vassar 
hurried  forward  to  beg  Virginia  to  return  with  the  girls 
and  the  older  people  to  New  York. 

They  refused  to  stir. 

"What's  the  use,  sir?"  Holland  snapped.  "We're  as 
safe  here  as  amywhere.  If  Hood  can't  hold  this  rail- 
roai  jumctio* — it's  all  over.  The  wildest  reports  come 
271 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

in  hourly  from  New  York.  The  looting  and  outrages 
surpass  belief — " 

"Your  house  has  been  raided?"  Vassar  asked. 

"I've  just  heard  that  every  house  on  both  Stuyve- 
sant  Square  and  Gramercy  Park  has  been  smashed  and 
wrecked.  The  soldiers  have  been  looting  private  dwell- 
ings at  their  leisure — while  mobs  of  thieves  and  cut- 
throats join  in  the  sport." 

There  was  no  help  for  it  then. 

He  whispered  a  hurried  good-bye  to  Virginia,  kissed 
Zonia  and  Marya  and  rushed  for  his  horse. 

The  first  gray  streaks  of  dawn  were  already  tinging 
the  eastern  sky.  The  invading  army  had  followed 
with  amazing  rapidity.  Whole  regiments  armed  with 
machine  guns  had  been  hurled  forward  by  automo- 
bile transports.  Hood  had  destroyed  the  railroad 
as  he  retreated.  The  advancing  hosts  didn't  need  it. 
The  hardened  veterans  who  marched,  with  quick  swing- 
ing gait,  smoking  their  pipes  and  singing,  could  make 
thirty  miles  a  day  and  be  ready  for  a  fight  at  the  end 
of  their  march.  They  meant  to  rush  our  trenches 
today  and  make  quick  work  of  it.  They  were  not  going 
to  waste  any  more  big  shells  which  might  be  needed 
elsewhere. 

The  wind  was  blowing  directly  in  the  faces  of  our 
men  for  the  first  time  since  the  landing  had  been  made. 
272 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

They  wondered  if  the  wild  stories  we  had  heard  of  the 
use  of  poisonous  gases  and  liquid  fire  in  the  great  war 
were  true.  We  had  begun  to  scout  these  tales  as  press 
work  of  the  various  governments.  The  day  was  des- 
tined to  bring  a  rude  awakening. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE  first  day's  battle  brought  to  many  a  raw 
recruit   the   sharp   need   of   military   training. 
Many  a  man  who  had  never  consciously  known 
the  meaning  of  fear  waked  to  find  his  knees  trembling 
and  hung  his  head  in  shame  at  the  revelation. 

Tommaso  had  led  his  squad  into  the  trenches  before 
his  bitter  hour  of  self-revelation  came.  He  had  caught 
a  glimpse  of  his  wife  and  boy  in  a  group  of  panic- 
stricken  refugees  and  the  sight  had  taken  the  last  ounce 
of  courage  out  of  him.  He  was  going  to  be  killed. 
He  knew  it  now  with  awful  certainty.  What  would 
become  of  his  loved  ones?  All  night  in  the  trenches 
he  brooded  over  it.  When  the  sun  rose  he  was  only 
waiting  for  a  chance  to  run  in  the  excitement  of  battle. 
He  swore  he  would  not  leave  his  wife  and  child  to 
starve ! 

Angela  carrying  the  poor  little  fear-stricken  monkey, 
with  the  boy  tightly  gripping  his  dog  Sausage,  trying 
to  save  his  kitten  and  his  mother  lugging  a  huge  bundle 
had  penetrated  the  American  lines  and  found  Vassar 
the  day  of  the  opening  fight. 
£74 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  leader  had  hustled  them  from  the  field  and  they 
had  taken  refuge  in  a  cabin  behind  the  trenches.  With 
the  first  gray  dawn,  the  aeroplanes  began  to  drop  shells 
from  the  sky.  An  aerial  bomb  exploded  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  cabin. 

Angela  leaped  to  the  door,  gathered  her  boy  and  pets 
and  shouted  to  her  terror-stricken  neighbor. 

"Come — quick !  we  will  be  torn  to  pieces — we  must 
run—" 

In  dumb  panic,  Mrs.  Schultz  gathered  her  own  boy 
convulsively  in  her  arms  and  refused  to  stir. 

Angela  sprang  through  the  door  and  hurried  across 
the  hills.  The  others  crouched  in  the  corner  of  the 
cabin  and  waited. 

A  black  ball  again  shot  downward,  crashed  through 
the  roof  of  the  cabin,  exploded  and  sent  the  frail  struc- 
ture leaping  into  the  heavens. 

The  airmen  far  up  in  the  sky  saw  the  column  of  flame 
and  smoke  and  debris: 

"Good — we  got  'em  that  crack!"  the  driver  shouted 
above  the  whirr  of  his  motor. 

By  one  of  the  strange  miracles  of  war  Sausage 
crawled  over  the  dead  body  of  his  mother  still  clinging 
to  the  kitten  and  found  his  way  into  the  woods  without 
a  scratch. 

Angela  was  just  staggering  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge 
275 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

when  the  shell  exploded  and  hurled  the  cabin  into  space. 
A  sickening  wave  of  horror  swept  her  soul  and  she  sud- 
denly sank  in  a  heap.  In  vain  poor  Sam  the  monk 
tried  to  rouse  her.  His  deep  curious  monkey  eyes  swept 
the  smoke-wreathed  heavens  in  terror  as  again  and 
again  he  stroked  the  white  still  face  of  his  fallen 
mistress. 

For  the  first  time  since  they  had  left  home  on  the 
wild  journey  the  childish  smile  left  the  boy's  face.  His 
war  picnic  had  ended  in  grim  tragedy  after  all.  He 
couldn't  believe  it  at  first  and  the  tears  came  in  spite 
of  his  struggle  to  hold  them  back.  In  vain  he  shook 
his  mother.  She  lay  flat  on  her  back  now,  her  chalk- 
white  face  upturned  in  the  sun. 

The  boy  was  still  crying  when  he  felt  the  nudge  of 
another  arm  against  his.  He  lifted  his  tear-stained  face 
and  saw  Sausage's  smoke-begrimmed  cheeks  and  the  look 
of  dumb  anguish  in  his  eyes. 

"What's  the  matter?"  the  boy  sobbed. 

"My  mamma's  killed" — was  the  low  answer. 

The  swarthy  face  of  the  little  Italian  pressed  close 
to  the  fair  German,  and  their  arms  stole  round  each 
other's  neck. 

Angela  waking  from  her  faint  found  them  thus  and 
gathered  them  into  her  arms. 

She  was  still  soothing  their  fears  when  Tommaso 
276 


'Tommaso  s 


to  the  breastworks  and  stood  one  man 
against  an  army" 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

crawling  on  hands  and  knees  in  mortal  terror  from  the 
battlefield,  suddenly  came  upon  them. 

In  her  surprise  and  joy  over  his  protection  Angela 
failed  to  note  at  first  the  meaning  of  his  sudden  appear- 
ance. 

"0  my  Tommaso!"  she  cried,  throwing  herself  into 
his  arms. 

He  held  her  close  for  a  moment  and  whispered  ex- 
citedly : 

"I  come  to  take  you  home,  my  Angela.  You  will  be 
killed — you  must  not  be  here — " 

It  was  not  until  he  had  spoken  that  the  wife  caught 
the  note  of  cowardly  terror  in  his  voice.  Her  arms 
slipped  slowly  from  his  neck. 

He  hurried  to  repeat  his  warning : 

"You  must  go  quick,  my  Angela!" 

The  wife  searched  his  soul  and  he  turned  away.  She 
put  her  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  her  own  eyes  filled 
with  tears. 

"Come — we  must  hurry" — Tommaso  urged,  seizing 
his  gun  and  starting  to  rise. 

Angela  held  his  hand  firmly  and  pointed  to  the  smoke- 
covered  field  below. 

"No — no — my  man.  Your  place  is  there  to  fight  for 
our  bambino  and  his  country — you  just  forgot  for  a 
little  while.  I  know— I  understand.  I  felt  my  heart 
277 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

melt  and  my  poor  knees  go  down — you  go  now  and  fight 
for  us !" 

The  man  trembled  and  could  not  meet  her  eye. 

A  shell  exploded  near,  hurling  the  dust  and  gravel  in 
advance  clear  above  them.  A  piece  of  iron  buried  itself 
in  the  earth  but  three  feet  away. 

Angela  cried  in  terror.  The  man  suddenly  stiffened, 
looked  into  the  face  of  his  boy,  rose,  seized  his  rifle, 
kissed  his  wife  and  rushed  down  the  red  lane  of  death 
to  the  front. 

Angela  watched  him  with  pride  and  terror.  He  was 
still  in  plain  view  in  the  little  valley  below  when  he  met 
the  ragged  lines  of  our  retreating  men.  The  color- 
bearer  fell.  Tommaso  seized  the  flag  and  called  the  men 
to  rally. 

Through  a  hell  of  bursting  shrapnel  and  machine- 
gun  fire  he  turned  the  tide  of  retreat  into  a  charge — 
a  charge  that  never  faltered  until  the  last  man  fell  on 
the  slippery  slopes  of  blood  below  the  trenches  of  the 
enemy. 

Tommaso  staggered  to  the  breastworks  and  stood 
one  man  against  an  army  cheering  and  calling  his 
charge  to  the  field  of  the  dead. 

The  enemy  rose  in  the  trenches  and  cheered  the  lone 
figure  silhouetted  against  the  darkened  heavens  until  he 
sank  at  last  exhausted  from  the  loss  of  blood. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

OUR  observers  in  a  captive  balloon  had  made 
out  before  sunrise  the  massing  of  machine 
guns  in  front.  They  were  still  coming  on  in 
endless  procession  of  swirling  auto-transports  that 
lifted  clouds  of  white  dust  that  swept  toward  our  lines 
in  billows  so  dense  at  times  the  field  was  obscured. 

Hood  decided  to  close  in  on  those  guns  before  they 
could  be  assembled  and  mounted. 

With  a  savage  yell  a  brigade  of  regulars  led  the 
charge,  followed  by  ten  thousand  picked  men.  Pressing 
forward  before  a  dust  cloud  the  regulars  penetrated 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  lines  before  they 
were  discovered.  The  rush  with  which  they  crossed  the 
space  was  resistless.  The  splutter  of  pompoms  filled 
the  air  and  half  the  line  went  down.  The  remaining  half 
reached  the  first  crews.  Hand  to  hand  now  and  man  to 
man  they  fought  like  demons — bayonets,  revolvers, 
clubs,  fists  and  stones !  Friend  and  foe  mingled  in  a 
mad  holocaust  of  death.  While  still  they  fought,  the 
second  line  of  our  charging  men  reached  the  spot  and 
joined  the  fray.  Twenty  machine  guns  had  been  cap- 
279 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

tured  and  turned  on  their  foes.  An  ominous  quiet  behind 
the  scene  of  this  bloody  combat  followed  the  first  roar 
of  the  clash. 

The  commander  of  the  invaders,  seeing  that  he  had 
lost  some  guns,  instantly  drew  back  his  lines  and  re- 
formed them  fan-shaped  with  each  gun  bearing  on  the 
breach. 

A  tornado  of  whistling  lead  suddenly  burst  on  the 
mass  of  our  victorious  troops.  Five  hundred  machine 
guns  had  been  concentrated  with  a  speed  that  was  stun- 
ning. 

Our  men  dropped  in  platoons.  They  swayed  and 
rallied  and  once  more  faced  the  foe  for  a  second  charge. 
Machine  guns  seemed  to  rise  from  the  earth.  They  were 
fighting  five  regiments  of  men  all  armed  with  them. 

fThe  commander  of  our  charging  division  tried  in  vain 
to  rally.  In  thirty  minutes  there  was  nothing  to  rally. 
They  lay  in  ghastly  moaning  heaps  while  whistling  bul- 
lets sang  their  requiem  in  an  endless  crackle  that  came 
like  the  popping  of  straw  before  the  roar  of  flames  in 
a  burning  meadow.  Whole  regiments  were  literally 
wiped  out  with  every  officer  and  every  man  left  torn 
and  mangled  on  the  field. 

The  reserves  in  the  trenches  saw  the  hideous  butchery 
in  helpless  fury.  No  moving  thing  could  live  within 
the  radius  of  those  guns. 

280 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

When  the  last  man  had  fallen,  the  spluttering  pom- 
poms died  away  and  a  green  billow  of  smoke  began  to 
roll  toward  our  lines.  It  swept  on  in  a  steady,  even 
wave  three  miles  long.  The  wind  was  carrying  the  cloud 
straight  across  the  trenches  in  which  our  men  crouched 
to  receive  the  charge  they  expected  to  follow  our  failure. 

The  dust  clouds  had  been  pouring  in  their  faces  all 
morning.  They  paid  no  attention  to  the  changing 
greenish  tints  of  the  new  dust  bank.  The  deadly  fumes 
poured  over  our  trenches  in  silence.  The  men  breathed 
once  and  dropped  in  strangling  horror,  clutching  and 
tearing  at  their  throats.  The  guns  fell  by  their  sides 
as  their  bodies  writhed  and  twisted  in  mortal  agony. 
The  pestilence  swept  the  field  scorching  and  curling 
every  living  thing. 

Behind  it  in  the  shadows  stalked  a  new  figure  in  the 
history  of  war — ghouls  in  shining  divers'  helmets  with 
knife  and  revolver  to  complete  the  assassin's  work. 

A  thousand  fiends  of  hell  charging  in  serried  ranks 
with  faces  silhouetted  by  the  red  glare  of  the  pit  could 
not  have  made  a  picture  more  hideous  than  these  crouch- 
ing diving  machines  as  they  scrambled  over  the  shambles 
of  the  trenches  and  ruthlessly  shot  the  few  surviving 
figures,  blindly  fighting  for  air. 

Behind  those  monsters  who  were  proof  against  the 
poison  fumes  advanced  the  dense  masses  of  infantry. 
281 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  way  was  clear,  the  backbone  of  the  defense  had 
been  broken.  Three  miles  of  undefended  trenches  lay 
in  front.  It  was  the  simplest  work  of  routine  to  give 
the  order  to  charge  and  watch  them  pour  through  the 
far-flung  hopeless  breach,  swing  to  the  right  and  left 
and  roll  the  broken  ranks  up  in  two  mighty  scrolls  of 
blood  and  death. 

It  was  done  with  remorseless,  savage  brutality.  Our 
men  asked  no  quarter.  They  got  none. 

The  leader  of  the  charging  hosts  had  orders  to  ex- 
terminate the  contemptible  little  army  of  civilians  that 
had  dared  oppose  the  imperial  hosts. 

They  were  setting  an  example  of  frightfulness  that 
would  make  the  task  of  complete  conquest  easy. 

"Kill!  Kill!  Kill!"  shouted  the  stout  bow-legged 
General  in  command  of  the  cavalry.  "It's  mercy  in 
the  long  run!  Let  them  know  that  we  mean  what  we 
say!" 

When  our  men  saw  their  methods  and  knew  that  the 
end  was  sure,  they  sold  each  life  for  all  it  would  bring 
in  the  shambles.  Many  a  stalwart  foe  bit  the  dust  and 
lay  cold  and  still  or  writhing  in  mortal  agony  among 
the  heaps  of  our  dead  and  wounded  before  the  awful 
day  had  ended. 

The  cries  of  the  wounded  were  heartrending.  A 
weird,  unearthly  sound  came  from  the  vast  field  of 
282 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

groaning,  wailing,  dying,  gibbering  men.  The  most 
hideous  scenes  of  all  were  enacted  by  maniacs  who 
laughed  the  red  laugh  of  death  in  each  other's  faces. 

The  horizon  toward  Southampton  was  black  now 
with  the  smoke  of  burning  villages.  They  had  set  them 
on  fire  with  deliberate  wanton  purpose  of  destructive 
terror. 

Would  they  burn  Babylon  in  the  same  way?  Would 
these  maddened  brutes  break  into  our  homes  and  make 
the  night  still  more  hideous  with  crimes  against  women 
and  children? 

A  wave  of  horror  swept  Vassar's  soul  as  he  thought 
of  his  nieces  and  the  woman  he  loved.  He  crept  through 
the  shadows  of  the  woods  and  hurried  toward  the  Hol- 
land home. 


CHAPTER  XXXIH 

THE  twilight  was  deepening  on  scenes  of  stark 
horror  in  the  streets  of  Babylon  when  Vassar 
slipped  through  the  field  and  along  the  hedge- 
rows toward  the  center  of  the  town. 

Flames  were  leaping  from  a  dozen  homes  along  the 
turnpike.  He  saw  the  brutal  soldiery  enter  a  pretty 
lawn,  call  out  the  occupants  and  as  they  emerged  fire 
in  volleys  on  old  men,  women  and  children.  They  fell 
across  the  doorsteps  and  lay  where  they  fell.  A  dark 
figure  approached  the  open  door,  hurled  a  quart  of 
gasoline  inside,  lighted  his  fire  ball,  and  walked  away, 
his  black  form  outlined  in  the  night  against  the  red 
glare  of  hell. 

A  crowd  of  panic-stricken  women  and  children  with 
a  dozen  boys  of  fourteen  rushed  down  the  streets  toward 
the  squad  of  incendiaries.  Without  a  word  they  raised 
their  rifles  and  fired  until  the  last  figure  fell. 

A  child  toddled  from  the  burning  home  carrying  her 
kitten  in  one  hand  and  a  toy  lamb  in  another.     She 
was  sobbing  bitterly  in  one  breath,  and  trying  to  re- 
assure her  kitten  in  the  next. 
284 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Vassar  heard  her  as  she  hurried  past  on  the  other 
side  of  the  hedge. 

"Don't  you  cry,  kitty  darling,  I  won't  let  them  hurt 
you." 

Her  people  were  dead.  She  was  hurrying  into  the 
night  alone.  From  every  street  came  the  shrieks  of 
women  dragged  to  their  doom  by  beasts  in  uniform. 

Vassar  set  his  jaw  and  crept  along  the  last  hedgerow 
to  the  gate  of  the  Holland  home. 

The  lights  were  burning  brightly.  A  sentinel  stood 
at  the  steps  of  the  porch,  his  burly  figure  distinctly  out- 
lined against  the  cluster  of  electric  lights  in  the  low 
ceiling. 

A  sentry  was  on  guard  at  the  gate  not  ten  feet  away. 
A  battery  of  artillery  rolled  past,  its  steel  frames  rat- 
tling and  lumbering. 

Vassar  saw  his  chance. 

As  the  last  caisson  wheeled  away  beyond  the  flicker- 
ing street  lamps  the  guard  turned  into  the  hedge  out  of 
the  wind  to  light  his  pipe. 

With  a  tiger  spring  Vassar  leaped  on  him,  gripped 
his  throat,  pressed  an  automatic  to  his  breast  and 
fired. 

He  took  the  chance  that  the  passing  battery  would 
drown  the  muffled  shot.  The  sentry  crumpled  in  his 
arms  and  he  held  his  Breath  watching  his  companion  at 
285 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

the  house.  The  steady  step  showed  that  he  had  not 
heard. 

He  drew  the  dying  soldier  into  the  shadows  inside 
the  lawn  and  exchanged  clothes.  He  threw  the  body 
close  under  the  hedge,  seized  the  rifle  and  took  his  place 
at  the  gate. 

He  would  side-step  the  officers,  guard  the  house  and 
make  the  men  who  dared  attempt  to  violate  it  pay  for 
their  crime.  It  was  evident  that  a  commander  had  se- 
lected the  house  for  his  headquarters  for  the  night.  He 
watched  the  drunken  revelers  who  passed  and  wondered 
what  was  happening  inside. 

So  long  as  the  officer  of  high  rank  remained  and  was 
sober  the  women  were  safe.  He  would  stand  guard 
until  daylight  and  make  his  escape. 

He  watched  the  figures  pass  the  lighted  windows  with 
increasing  anxiety.  A  disturbance  had  occurred.  The 
sentinel  stopped,  glanced  toward  the  house,  lowered  his 
gun,  watched  a  moment  and  resumed  his  beat. 

Vassar  crawled  on  his  hands  and  knees  halfway 
across  the  lawn,  gripped  his  rifle,  and  waited. 


CHAPTER  XXXIY 

THE  orderly  who  searched  the  house  found  two 
shotguns.  The  Colonel  who  kad  quartered  his 
staff  for  the  night  pointed  to  the  two  old  men. 

"Arrest  them — you  understand." 

Andrew  Vassar  knew  what  the  brief  clause  with  which 
the  order  ended  meant.  He  crossed  himself  and  breathed 
a  prayer  for  the  safety  of  his  loved  ones. 

Zonia  and  Marya  burst  into  tears.  Virginia  and  her 
mother  drew  themselves  erect  and  waited  white  and 
silent. 

Holland  faced  the  commander,  erect,  defiant. 

"I  am  a  soldier,  sir,"  he  began  with  dignity.  "I 
fought  for  my  country  through  four  bloody  years  in  a 
hundred  skirmishes  and  twenty-six  great  battles.  I 
have  the  right  to  bear  arms.  I  have  won  that  right 
with  my  blood.  I  claim  it  before  any  court  on  earth 
over  which  a  soldier  presides." 

The  commander  fixed  him  with  a  stern  look. 

"You  have  disobeyed  the  proclamation  of  the  Gov- 
ernor-General,  the   servant   of   my   Imperial   Master. 
You  have  therefore  forfeited  all  rights." 
287 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I  demand  a  trial  by  drum-head  court  martial !"  Hol- 
land answered. 

"You  shall  have  it — you  and  your  companion.  Take 
them  away." 

Between  two  soldiers  they  were  marched  across  the 
fields. 

The  children  burst  into  incontrollable  weeping. 

The  Colonel  spoke  in  sharp  tones: 

"Come,  come,  my  children.  It  is  nothing.  I  must 
respect  the  forms.  Their  lives  are  forfeited,  but  I  spare 
them  for  your  sakes.  They  will  return,  both,  tomor- 
row— have  no  fear!" 

Zonia  seized  the  officer's  hand  still  sobbing: 

"Thank  you !    Thank  you !" 

Marya  in  her  joy  kissed  him. 

The  crisis  passed,  the  Colonel  turned  to  the  ladies 
with  a  courtly  bow. 

"I  am  sorry  to  have  to  be  so  rude  in  your  presence, 
madam,"  he  said,  addressing  Virginia's  mother.  "We 
are  soldiers.  I  must  obey  the  orders  of  my  superiors. 
I  have  no  choice.  We  are  sorry  to  put  you  to  the 
trouble — but  we  are  tired  and  hungry  and  we  must  dine. 
I  will  appreciate  a  good  dinner  and  I  shall  see  to  it 
that  your  home  is  safe  from  intrusion  on  this  unhappy 
evening." 

His  heels  clicked  again  and  he  resumed  his  seat. 
288 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"We  will  serve  you  dinner  at  once,"  Virginia  quickly 
replied  before  her  mother  could  answer.  "We  are  sorry 
that  it  will  be  so  poor.  We  have  had  no  market  for 
the  past  two  days — " 

"Some  good  wine  will  go  far  to  make  up  for  what  else 
you  may  lack,"  a  Lieutenant  interrupted. 

"By  all  means,  some  wine — "  the  Colonel  added. 

The  three  men  were  bidden  to  enter  the  dining-room 
with  a  bow  from  Peter,  the  black  butler. 

"We  dine  alone?"  the  Colonel  asked  in  surprise. 

"De  ladies  is  feelin*  very  po'ly,  sah — Dey  axe  to  be 
'cused— " 

"Say  to  the  ladies,"  was  the  stern  answer,  "that  we 
cannot  sit  down  without  their  presence.  |We  await 
them.  Ask  them  to  come  at  once." 

The  request  was  a  command. 

The  women  held  a  council  of  war. 

"I'll  die  first,"  Mrs.  Holland  calmly  answered. 

"You  will  not,"  Virginia  firmly  declared. 

"We've  something  big  to  live  for  now.  Our  country 
needs  us.  We  too  are  soldiers  from  tonight.  We  play 
the  war  game  with  our  enemy — come  all  of  you — " 

Without  delay  she  forced  them  to  enter  the  dining- 
room.  Virginia,  Zonia  and  Marya  took  seats  opposite 
the  intruders,  the  mother,  her  accustomed  place  at  the 

head  of  the  table. 

289 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  dinner  moved  with  quiet  and  orderly  dignity 
until  the  officers'  faces  began  to  flush  with  wine. 
The  Lieutenant's  leering  eye  continually  sought 
Zonia's. 

She  avoided  his  gaze  at  every  turn. 

"Come,  now,  you  little  puss !"  he  cried  at  last.  "Don't 
freeze  me  with  dark  looks  and  averted  gaze.  I  like 
you !" 

Zonia  blushed  and  dropped  her  head  lower. 

"I  suggest,  Lieutenant,"  Mrs.  Holland  began,  "that 
your  remark  is  a  little  rude.  I  trust  we  are  in  the 
presence  of  gentlemen  of  culture  and  refinement." 

Virginia  held  her  breath  in  painful  suspense.  She 
saw  the  Colonel  give  a  wink  aside  to  his  subordinate. 

The  Lieutenant  tossed  off  his  glass  of  wine,  rose, 
clicked  his  heels  and  bowed. 

"I  assure  you,  madam,"  he  said  with  a  laugh,  "you 
do  me  great  injustice.  I  have  been  honestly  smitten 
with  admiration  for  the  charming  and  beautiful  young 
lady.  We  are  enemies,  but  she  has  conquered.  I 
acknowledge  defeat.  To  show  you  my  sincerity,  I  will 
apologize — " 

With  a  quick  swing,  his  word  clanking,  he  walked 
around  the  table  and  leaned  close  over  Zonia's  soulders, 
his  reddened  eyes  searching  her  frightened  face. 

"You  will  forgive  me,  my  dear!"  he  drawled. 
290 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

His  head  touched  the  girl's  dark  hair  and  she  shrank 
with  a  little  cry  of  horror. 

"Please !" 

"So!     I'm  not  to  be  forgiven!"  he  growled. 

"Please  leave  me!"  Zonia  breathed  timidly. 

"Come  now — don't  be  silly — "  he  protested.  "Am 
I  a  leper?" 

The  girl  lifted  her  eyes  to  his  flushed,  lecherous  face, 
sprang  to  her  feet,  rushed  into  the  hall  and  up  the 
stairs.  The  Lieutenant  followed  with  a  loud  laugh  and 
oath. 

Virginia  and  her  mother  leaped  from  their  chairs  to 
follow.  The  Colonel  stood  in  front  barring  the  way. 

"Enough  of  these  high  and  mighty  airs,  if  you 
please !"  he  commanded  sternly.  "We  are  the  masters 
of  this  house.  It  is  a  woman's  place  to  obey.  Sit 
down!" 

"Colonel,  I  beg  of  you — "  Virginia  pleaded.  "I 
must  protect  this  girl.  She  is  under  my  care — " 

"I  will  protect  her !  My  officer  means  no  harm.  Your 
suspicions  are  an  insult.  He  is  only  having  his  little 
fun  with  a  foolish  girl.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  con- 
queror— " 

He  seized  Virginia's  arm  and  forced  her  into  her 
seat.      Marya    was    sobbing   bitterly.      Mrs.    Holland 
sank  helplessly  into  a  chair  where  she  stood. 
291 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  Colonel  opened  the  front  door  and  beckoned 
the  guard. 

The  sentinel  entered. 

"Attend  us.  The  ladies  will  not  leave  this  room 
until  our  dinner  has  been  properly  served." 

The  man  saluted  and  took  his  place  beside  the  door. 

The  noise  of  a  struggle  in  the  room  above  brought  a 
moment  of  dead  silence.  The  Colonel  smiled.  Marya 
screamed  and  Mrs.  Holland  fainted. 

"Stop !  Stop,  I  say !"  Virginia  heard  the  Lieutenant 
shout. 

A  vulgar  oath  rang  through  the  house  and  Zonia's 
swift  feet  were  climbing  the  second  flight  of  stairs,  a 
man  stumbling  after  her. 

Virginia  rushed  instinctively  to  the  rescue.  The 
guard  seized  her  arms  and  forced  her  into  a  chair. 

"My  dear  young  lady,"  the  Sublieutenant  cried,  ap- 
proaching her  with  a  leer.  "It's  only  a  little  fun !  Not 
a  hair  of  her  precious  head  will  be  harmed.  He  only 
fired  to  frighten  and  bring  her  to  terms." 

The  Colonel  continued  to  eat. 

Virginia  rushed  to  her  mother's  aid  with  a  glass  of 
water  as  her  limp  form  slipped  to  the  floor. 

The  Colonel  bent  low  over  his  cups  and  laughed  at  a 
joke  the  Sublieutenant  whispered. 

A  shot  rang  out  from  the  wall  of  the  house. 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

A  piercing  scream  echoed  from  the  tower  against 
the  roof. 

Something  crashed  through  the  vines  and  struck  the 
stone  walk  with  a  dull  thud. 

"O  my  God !"  Virginia  moaned,  covering  her  ears. 

Virginia  leaped  from  the  floor  and  heard  the  quick 
familiar  step  of  Billy  passing  the  back  door. 

He  was  hiding  on  the  lawn,  heard  Zonia's  first  scream, 
and  had  killed  the  officer.  Virginia  saw  it  in  a  flash. 

Their  vengeance  would  be  complete  when  they  knew 
the  truth.  She  must  escape.  There  was  work  to  be 
done  for  her  country  and  she  meant  to  do  it.  Life 
was  too  precious  to  be  thrown  away  tonight. 

She  glided  silently  toward  the  door,  reached  the  hall, 
seized  Zonia's  hand,  passed  the  guard  and  reached 
the  lawn. 

"Follow  her !"  the  Colonel  shouted.  "Bring  her  back 
dead  or  alive — I'll  not  be  flouted  by  women !" 

The  man  plunged  after  Virginia,  and  called  once: 

"Halt!" 

He  raised  his  rifle  to  fire  as  she  rushed  squarely  into 
the  arms  of  the  sentry  who  held  the  gate. 

She  struggled  fiercely  to  free  herself  from  the  hated 
uniform  and  felt  his  arms  tighten  with  savage  power. 

Vassar  spoke  in  low,  tense  whispers: 

"Be  still,  my  own!" 

293 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

She  lifted  her  eyes  in  joyous  terror  and  saw  the 
face  of  her  lover  tense  with  rage. 

"God  in  heaven !"  she  cried. 

"Sh,  still  now — on  your  knees,"  he  breathed. 

"Oh,  Uncy   darling!"  Zonia  moaned. 

Virginia's  body  slowly  dropped  as  if  in  prayer  that 
her  life  be  spared. 

The  sentinel  from  the  house  leisurely  approached. 

"Good  work,  old  pal!"  he  called. 

The  Colonel  and  Sublieutenant  rushed  from  the 
house,  followed  by  Marya  and  Mrs.  Holland  who  had 
revived.  The  commander  blew  his  whistle  and  the  en- 
tire guard  who  patrolled  the  grounds  hurried  to  the 
spot. 

Billy  stepped  from  the  shadows,  and  spoke  in  low 
tones  to  Vassar. 

"It's  all  up  with  me  now.  I  shot  the  devil  who  was 
after  Zonia." 

"Billy  darling!"  Virginia  moaned. 

"Keep  still,  sis — it's  all  right!"  he  whispered. 

The  Colonel  approached  the  group  at  his  leisure, 
smoking  a  cigarette. 

He"  merely  glanced  at  Vassar  and  began  in  quick 
business-like  tones: 

"Who  shot  that  man?" 

Bxlly  stepped  forward. 

294 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I  did,  sir—" 
"So?" 

"Virginia  Holland's  my  sister — " 
The   Colonel  touched  his   mustache   and  looked  the 
youngster  over  with  admiration. 

"A  boy  alone  defies  a  victorious  army.  I  like  you. 
I  want  you  in  our  ranks — " 

He  paused  thoughtfully  as  Mrs.  Holland  and  Marya 
crept  close,  clinging  to  each  other  in  dumb  misery. 
Zonia  slipped  close  to  Billy — 

"My  darling  boy !"  his  mother  moaned. 
"It's    all    right,    mother,"    he    called    cheerfully— 
"What's  the  odds?     They  shot  John  Vassar's  father 
and  mine  an  hour  ago — " 

A  low  moan  came  from  Virginia's  lips. 
The  mother  was  silent.     Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
rigid  figure  of  her  boy  with  hungry,  desperate  yearn- 
ing. 

The  Colonel  caught  the  look  of  anguish  and  felt 
for  a  moment  the  pull  of  its  tragedy.  He  too  had  a 
mother. 

He  turned  to  her  and  spoke  in  friendly  tones : 
"Madam,  your  son  is  of  the  stuff  that  makes  heroes. 
I'm  going  to  spare  his  life — " 
"Thank  God—"  she  sobbed. 

"On  one  condition — I  want  him  in  the  service  of 
295 


THE  FALL  Oft  A  NATION 

the  Emperor.  Frederick  the  Great  called  thousands 
of  conquered  foes  to  the  colors — they  made  good.  If 
he  will  take  off  his  cap  and  give  three  cheers  for  the 
Emperor — I  will  place  him  on  my  staff  and  he  shall 
live  to  find  new  paths  of  glory." 

Billy  smiled. 

His  mother,  Virginia,  Marya  and  Zonia  pressed  close 
and  pleaded  that  he  yield. 

His  mother  held  him  in  her  arms  in  a  long,  desperate 
embrace. 

"O  my  baby,  heart  of  my  heart,  you  must — I  com- 
mand it.  Your  father  is  gone.  You  must  live  and 
care  for  your  poor  mother — " 

"Do  it,  boy,"  Virginia  whispered,  "and  give  them 
the  slip — fight  the  devil  with  fire — you  must." 

"Please,  Billy !"  Marya  pleaded. 

Zonia  slipped  her  arms  around  his  neck. 

The  boy  looked  into  the  wistful  face  of  the  girl — bent 
and  kissed  her. 

"All  right,  Zonia,"  he  cried  steadily. 

"I'll  do  it  for  your  sake  and  mother's — " 

"Sensible  boy!"  the  Colonel  cried.  "Now  atten- 
tion!" 

He  clicked  his  heels  as  the  guard  fell  in  line  behind 
him.  With  quick  wit  John  Vassar  took  his  place  with 

the  others. 

296 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"The  ladies  by  my  side,  please,  in  honor  of  the  cere- 
mony," the  Colonel  called. 

Virginia,  Marya  and  the  mother  huddled  in  a  group 
beside  the  commander. 

"Now,  sir,"  he  cried,  "we'll  have  three  cheers  for  his 
Imperial  Majesty,  the  Emperor!" 

The  boy's  face  went  white  and  his  voice  failed. 

"Billy—"  his  mother  pleaded. 

"Billy !"  Virginia  sternly  commanded. 

"Billy!"  Zonia  pleaded. 

The  youngster's  body  suddenly  stiffened  and  a  smile 
overspread  his  face.  The  tense  scene  was  unearthly 
in  the  pale  moonlight.  His  voice  was  quick  and  rang 
in  deep,  manly  tones. 

"Hurrah  for  the  President  of  the  United  States!— 
to  hell  with  all  emperors !" 

The  Colonel  drew  his  pistol  and  shot  him  down  be- 
fore their  agonized  gaze. 

The  mother  swooned,  Marya  fled  in  terror  to  the 
woods. 

Zonia  caught  the  crumpled  figure  in  her  arms. 

Vassar  with  a  single  leap  was  by  Virginia's  side, 
seized  her  and  rushed  toward  the  shadows  of  the  hedge. 

He  shouted  to  the  commander: 

"She's  mine,  Colonel — by  right  of  conquest!" 

To  Virginia  he  whispered  hoarsely : 
297 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Shout,  fight,  scratch,  scream  to  him  for  help — " 

Quick  to  catch  his  ruse,  she  struck  wildly  with  her 
hands,  and  called  for  help. 

The  Colonel  laughed. 

"I  had  reserved  higher  honors  for  you!"  he  shouted. 
"You're  not  worth  it — go  with  gour  man!" 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

MRS.  HOLLAND  rallied  from  her  swoon  and 
Marya  helped  her  to  rise  as  Zonia  shouted 
joyfully:  "Come  quick!  He's  alive— he's 
alive!" 

Billy  opened  his  eyes  feebly  and  raised  his  hand  to 
the  ugly  wound  in  his  breast.  Zonia  caught  it,  bent 
and  kissed  him. 

Mrs.  Holland  staggered  to  the  group  and  knelt  by 
their  side. 

"Oh — my  boy — you'll  live — I  feel  it — I  know  it.  God 
has  heard  my  prayer — " 

She  paused  and  turned  to  Marya — 

"Go,  darling,  quick — bring  some  water  and  tell  Peter 
to  come." 

Marya  darted  across  the  lawn,  entered  the  house, 
summoned  Peter  and  seized  a  glass  of  water. 

In  ten  minutes  the  faithful  old  butler  had  carried 
Billy  from  the  lawn  and  was  leading  the  stricken  group 
toward  the  road  for  New  York. 

Vassar's  trick  succeeded.  He  reached  his  post  with- 
out interference,  thrust  Virginia  into  the  edge  of  the 
299 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

dense  hedgerow  and  waited  until  the  guards  had 
returned  to  their  places.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be 
lost. 

He  seized  her  hand  and  rushed  down  the  street  lit 
by  the  glare  of  burning  houses. 

"Play  your  part  now!"  he  commanded.  "It's  the 
only  way  and  it's  safe.  It's  the  order  of  the  night's 
work." 

They  pushed  through  mobs  of  panic-stricken  flee- 
ing refugees  and  groups  of  drunken  soldiers  revelling 
in  every  excess.  Again  and  again  they  passed  brutes 
with  captive  girls  as  their  prey.  Some  had  them  tied 
with  cords.  Others  relied  on  a  blow  from  their  fists  to 
insure  obedience. 

They  waved  their  congratulations  to  Vassar  and 
his  captive  as  they  passed. 

They  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  town  without  ac- 
cident and  ran  into  the  stream  of  horror-stricken  hu- 
manity that  was  pouring  now  toward  New  York. 

A  great  murmur  of  mingled  anguish,  rage  and 
despair  rolled  heavenward.  It  seemed  a  part  of  the 
leaping  flames  and  red  billowing  smoke  of  the  burning 
city  behind  them. 

Lost  children  were  crying  for  their  parents  and 
trudging  hopelessly  on  with  the  crowd. 

A  farmer  with  a  horrible  wound  across  his  forehead 
300 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

was  pushing  a  wheelbarrow  bearing  his  mangled  child. 
Beside  the  body  sat  a  little  three-year-old  girl  clutching 
a  blood-smeared  doll. 

A  big  automobile  came  shrieking  through  this  crowd 
of  misery.  Beside  the  chauffeur  sat  an  officer  in  glit- 
tering uniform,  behind  two  soldiers,  their  bayonets 
flashing  in  the  glare  of  the  conflagration.  In  the  rear 
seat  alone,  in  magnificent  uniform  with  gold  epaulets 
and  cords,  sat  the  Governor-General  of  the  fallen 
nation. 

Waldron  saw  Virginia  with  a  look  of  surprise  and 
rage  and  lifted  his  hand.  The  car  stopped  instantly. 
The  guard  sprang  out  and  opened  the  door  of  the 
tonneau. 

"Quick!"  Virginia  whispered.  "He  has  seen  me. 
He  will  recognize  you — run  for  your  life!" 

"I'll  not  leave  you  to  that  beast's  mercy — " 

"Run — run  I  tell  you,  if  you  love  me !"  she  cried  in 
agony.  "I  can  take  care  of  myself  now.  I'll  manage 
Waldron — and  I  know  how  to  die !" 

He  gripped  her  hand  fiercely. 

With  sudden  resolution,  she  tore  from  his  grasp 
and  rushed  to  meet  her  rescuer. 

Vassar  no  longer  hesitated.     She  had  made  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  linger  a  moment.     He  leaped  the 
fence  and  disappeared  in  the  shadows. 
301 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Waldron  grasped  Virginia's  hand  in  genuine  sur- 
prise and  distress. 

"My  dear  Miss  Holland,"  he  said  with  a  touch  of 
royal  condescension,  "what  does  this  mean?" 

"I  was  a  prisoner,"  she  gasped. 

"A  prisoner?" 

"The  brute  who  ran  had  seized  and  dragged  me 
from  the  lawn  and  through  the  streets." 

"I'm  proud  and  happy  in  this  chance  to  prove  to  you 
my  devotion.  You  have  treated  me  cruelly.  I  show 
jyou  tonight  my  generosity." 

"Thank  you,"  she  murmured  gratefully. 

With  a  lordly  bow  he  handed  her  into  the  car  and 
ordered  his  chauffeur  to  drive  down  the  turnpike  toward 
the  Holland  house. 

The  home  was  in  flames.  The  Colonel  had  fired  it 
in  revenge  for  the  death  of  his  Lieutenant  and  sought 
new  headquarters  for  the  night. 

Virginia  found  her  mother,  Zonia,  Marya — with  old 
Peter  nearby  holding  Billy  in  his  lap — standing  in 
dazed  horror  watching  the  flames  leap  and  roar  and 
crackle. 

Waldron  helped  the  stricken  mother  and  girl  into  his 
car. 

Virginia  lifted  her  white  face. 
r*My  father  was  shot — " 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Tonight?" 

"Yes—" 

Waldron  turned  sharply  to  a  guard. 

"Find  his  body.  It  can't  be  far  and  bring  it  to 
New  York  for  burial." 

"If  you  will  permit  me,  Miss  Holland,"  Waldron 
said  with  a  stately  bow,  "I  will  take  you  and  your 
mother  to  your  house  on  the  Square.  I  fear  it  has  been 
looted  by  the  soldiery  who  got  out  of  hand  for  a  few 
hours.  But  you  will  be  safe  there  from  tonight.  I  will 
place  a  guard  at  your  door.  You  are  under  my  pro- 
tection now — " 

"Thank  you !  Thank  you,"  Virginia  answered  in  low 
tones. 

The  Governor-General  drove  by  the  army  head- 
quarters, spoke  for  a  moment  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief,  arranged  the  programme  for  the  triumphal  entry 
into  the  city,  secured  a  cavalry  escort  and  leisurely 
drove  back  into  New  York  through  miles  of  weary 
plodding,  stunned  and  maimed  refugees  still  fleeing 
before  the  savage  sweep  of  the  imperial  army. 

He  placed  Virginia  and  her  mother  in  their  wrecked 
home  and  stationed  a  guard  at  the  door. 

With  lordly  condescension  he  took  her  hand  in  part- 
ing: 

"Please  remember,  Miss  Holland,  that  I'm  the  most 
303 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

powerful  man  in  America  today.  My  word  is  law, 
and  I  am  yours  to  command." 

"You  are  generous,"  she  answered  softly. 

He  lifted  his  hand  in  protest,  bowed  and  took  his 
seat  again  in  his  automobile. 

Virginia  stood  beside  a  broken  window  and  watched 
the  swiftly  galloping  horses  of  his  escort  sweep  past 
the  little  park  toward  Broadway. 

She  walked  with  wide  staring  eyes  through  the  lit- 
ter of  broken  furniture,  a  dim  resolution  slowly  shap- 
ing itself  in  her  soul.  It  came  in  a  moment's  inspira- 
tion— the  way  of  deliverance  at  last.  Her  heart  gave 
a  cry  of  joy.  The  nails  of  her  slender  fingers  cut  the 
flesh  as  she  gripped  her  hands  in  the  fierce  decision. 

'Til  do  it— I'll  do  it!"  she  breathed  with  uplifted 
head  and  chalk-white  face. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

VASSAR  succeeded  in  making  his  way  to  Fort 
Hamilton  and  joined  General  Hood.    He  had 
cut    his    way    through    Waldron's    garrison 
which  had  mobilized  in  Brooklyn  to  join  its  levies  with 
the  invading  army. 

General  Hood  disbanded  the  handful  of  surviving 
officers  and  men  and  ordered  each  individual  to  join 
him  at  a  secret  rendezvous  on  the  plains  of  Texas.  He 
kept  intact  two  companies  of  cavalry  for  an  escort.  He 
would  take  his  chances  with  these  by  avoiding  the  fallen 
cities. 

He  placed  final  orders  to  his  faithful  secret  service 
men  in  New  York  in  Vassar's  hands. 

"You  wish  to  stay  a  few  days  in  New  York.  All 
right.  Disguise  yourself,  travel  by  rail  and  join  me 
later.  Tell  our  people  everywhere  to  play  the  fox, 
submit,  take  their  oath  of  allegiance,  and  wait  my 
orders.  They'll  come  in  due  time.  I'm  going  to  re- 
treat to  the  Sierra  Nevadas  if  necessary  and  get 
ready." 

Vassar  pressed  the  General's  hand. 
305 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You   will    surrender    the    forts?" 

"Certainly.  I  shall  leave  them  intact.  We'll  need 
them  again." 

"I  could  blow  them  up.  It  would  be  foolish.  The 
city  they  were  built  to  defend  is  lost  for  the  moment. 
The  submarines  are  already  lying  in  the  harbor  and 
hold  the  Navy  Yard." 

With  a  quick  pressure  of  hand  the  men  parted. 
The  General  embarked  his  cavalry  on  a  small  army 
transport  that  lay  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Hamilton, 
slipped  to  sea  at  night  and  sailed  for  Galveston. 

Vassar  reached  New  York  disguised  as  a  Long  Island 
truck  farmer.  He  drove  a  wagon  loaded  with  vege- 
tables, circled  Stuyvesant  Square  next  morning  and 
called  his  produce  for  sale. 

He  looked  for  an  agonized  moment  at  his  battered 
house,  snapped  the  iron  weight  strop  on  his  horse's 
bridle  and  rushed  up  the  stairs. 

The  wreck  within  was  complete  and  appalling. 

He  hurried  across  the  Square  to  the  Holland  house. 
He  was  sure  that  Waldron  would  give  his  protection. 

He  could  kill  him  for  it  and  yet  he  thanked  God  Vir- 
ginia was  safe.  Waldron  loved  her.  He  knew  it 
by  an  unerring  intuition.  He  would  use  his  wealth 
and  dazzling  power  again  to  win  her.  He  knew  that 
too  by  the  same  sixth  sense. 
306 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

He  couldn't  succeed!  If  ever  a  woman  loved,  Vir- 
ginia Holland  loved  him.  With  her  kind  it  was  once 
for  life. 

And  yet  he  trembled  at  the  thought  of  what  such  a 
brute  might  do  when  every  appeal  had  failed.  Would 
he  dare  to  use  his  power  to  force  her  to  his  will?  Such 
things  had  been  done  by  tyrants.  A  new  day  was 
dawning  in  a  world  that  once  was  the  home  of  freedom — 
the  day  of  the  jailer,  tyrant,  sycophant,  and  soldier 
who  asks  no  questions. 

It  strangled  him  to  think  that  he  must  leave  her 
here.  He  wouldn't !  He  would  make  her  come  with 
Marya,  Zonia  and  her  mother  into  the  West  and  take 
her  place  in  the  field  by  his  side. 

The  thought  thrilled  him  with  new  life. 

In  ten  minutes  he  was  holding  her  in  his  arms — war 
and  death,  poverty  and  ruin  lost  in  love's  mad  rap- 
ture. 

"You  must  come  with  me,  my  own!"  he  breathed. 
"I  will  find  a  tent  for  you  on  the  great  free  plains — 
you,  your  mother,  and  Marya  and  Zonia.  You  can 
follow  when  I  send  you  the  word — 'r 

She  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"No,  my  lover,  I  cannot  surrender  to  our  enemies 
like  that — my  place  is  here." 

"Your  life  is  not  safe  in  Waldron's  hands." 
307 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"I'm  in  God's  hands.  I  have  work  to  do.  You 
shall  do  grours  on  the  plains  training  our  brave  boys 
for  the  day  that  shall  surely  come.  I  must  do  mine 
here—" 

"I  can't  leave  you!"  he  protested  bitterly. 

"You  must.  My  mother  can't  live.  I  know  this. 
^The  shock  of  a  journey  would  kill  her.  Marya  and 
Zonia  shall  be  my  sisters." 

For  half  an  hour  he  pleaded  in  vain.  There  was 
but  one  answer. 

"My  work  is  here.  I've  thought  it  out  to  the  end. 
I  shall  not  fail.  I'll  tell  you  when  I'm  ready  and  you 
will  come  then — " 

There  was  an  inspiration,  a  lofty  spirit  of  exalta- 
tion, in  her  speech  that  hushed  protest. 

He  pressed  her  lips. 

"I  will  not  see  you  again,"  he  said  at  last.  "My 
coming  is  dangerous  to  us  both.  My  work  is  done  to- 
day. We  may  be  watched  by  other  eyes  than  Wal- 
dron's  guard  on  your  block — " 

"I  am  grateful  for  his  help.  I  shall  be  sorry  for 
him  when  the  day  I  dream  comes.  But  it  must  come. 
I  have  betrayed  my  country  by  folly  beyond  God's  for- 
giveness. I  shall  do  my  part  now  to  retrieve  that 
error—" 

Vassar  moved  uneasily. 

308 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You  shall  know  and  approve — and  I  shall  not 
fail!" 

She  paused  and  held  his  gaze  with  a  strange,  glowing 
light  in  her  eyes — the  light  of  religious  enthusiasm.  It 
filled  him  with  fear  and  thrilled  him  with  hope.  Her 
faith  was  contagious. 

<rYou  cannot  work  here — "  she  went  on,  "a  price  is 
on  your  head." 

He  left  her  at  the  door,  the  same  dreamy  brilliance 
in  her  sensitive  face.  She  stood  as  if  in  a  trance.  He 
wondered  what  it  meant — what  her  mysterious  work 
was  going  to  be? 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THREE     days    later    the    magnificent    imperial 
army  entered  the  fallen  metropolis,  its  scarlet, 
gold-embossed  standards  flying,  its  bands  play- 
ing. 

Waldron  marched  to  meet  them  at  the  head  of  twen- 
ty-five thousand  picked  men  of  his  garrison.  His 
division  more  than  made  good  the  losses  of  battle. 

When  the  grand  march  began  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Queensboro  Bridge — one  hundred  and  sixty-five  thou- 
sand men  were  in  line.  The  immensity  of  the  spectacle 
stunned  the  imagination  of  the  curious  thousands  that 
pressed  close  to  the  curbs  and  watched  them  pass.  When 
the  German  army  entered  Antwerp  in  the  world  war, 
the  streets  were  absolutely  deserted  save  for  stray  dogs 
and  cats  that  howled  from  wrecked  buildings.  New 
York  was  consumed  by  a  quenchless  eagerness  to  look 
on  their  conquerors. 

All  day  from  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  dark 

the  torrent  of  brown  kahki  poured  through  Fifty-ninth 

Street   and   down   Fifth   Avenue.     When   the  Avenue 

was  filled  by  the  solid  ranks  from  Central  Park  to  the 

310 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Washington  Arch,  the  imperial  host  at  a  given  signal 
raised  their  shout  of  triumph. 

"For  God  and  Emperor !" 

Until  this  moment  they  had  moved  in  a  silence  that 
was  uncanny.  Their  long-pent  feelings  gave  the  united 
yell  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  an  unearthly 
power.  They  shouted  in  chorus  first  from  every  regi- 
ment in  one  grand  burst  of  defiant  pride.  And  then 
they  shouted  by  regiments,  beginning  with  the  first. 
The  shout  leaped  from  regiment  to  regiment  until  it 
swept  the  entire  line  far  out  on  the  plains  of  Long 
Island.  Each  marching  host  tried  to  lift  the  note 
higher  until  the  frenzied  bursts  came  with  the  shock  of 
salvos  of  artillery. 

And  then  they  sang  the  songs  of  their  grand  army 
on  the  march.  For  an  hour  their  voices  rang  the 
death  knell  of  freedom  while  conquered  thousands  stood 
in  awed  silence. 

Waldron  moved  at  the  head  of  the  column  on  his 
white  horse  in  gorgeous  uniform.  Beside  him  rode  in 
service  suit  the  Commander-in-chief  on  a  black  Arabian 
stallion  with  arched  neck  and  sleek,  shining  sides. 

The  ceremonies  at  the  City  Hall  were  brief.  The 
grand  procession  never  paused.  Timed  to  a  dot,  the 
lines  had  divided  as  they  passed  the  cross  streets  lead- 
ing to  our  great  tunnels.  At  Forty-second  Street  a 
311 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

division  swung  into  the  Grand  Central  Station  to  en- 
train for  service  in  the  interior.  The  cars  were  waiting 
with  steam  up  and  every  man  at  his  place  under  the 
command  of  army  officers. 

At  Thirty-fourth  Street  another  division  swung  into 
the  Pennsylvania  Station.  At  Twenty-third  Street  an- 
other swept  toward  the  Lackawanna  and  the  Erie.  At 
Fourteenth  Street  another  swung  toward  the  Chelsea 
piers,  where  transports  were  waiting  to  bear  them  to 
Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Charleston,  New  Orleans,  Jack- 
sonville and  Galveston. 

These  transports  had  been  seized  in  the  harbor.  The 
great  armada  was  already  loading  the  second  division 
of  a  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  more  men  at  the 
wharves  of  Europe.  The  imperial  army  of  occupation 
would  consist  of  a  million  veterans.  They  would  be 
landed  now  without  pause  until  the  work  was  done.  A 
A  fleet  of  a  hundred  submarines  lay  in  wait  for  our 
Pacific  fleet  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Its  end  was 
sure. 

The  conquest  was  complete,  overwhelming,  stunning. 
The  half-baked  desperate  rebellions  that  broke  out  in 
various  small  towns  where  patriotism  was  a  living  thing 
were  stamped  out  with  a  cruelty  so  appalling  they  were 
not  repeated.  At  the  first  ripple  of 'trouble  the  town 
was  laid  in  ashes,  its  population  of  males«massacred,  its 


THE  FALL  OF  'A  NATION 

women  outraged  and  driven  into  the  fields  to  crawl  to 
the  nearest  village  and  tell  the  story.  One  short-lived 
victory  marked  the  end. 

The  Virginians  raised  an  army  of  volunteer  cavalry, 
led  by  a  descendant  of  Jeb  Stuart  raided  and  cap- 
tured Washington.  The  garrison  were  taken  by 
complete  surprise  at  three  o'clock  before  daylight. 
The  fight  was  at  close  quarters  and  the  enemy  was 
annihilated. 

A  battle  cruiser  promptly  swept  up  the  Potomac 
from  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  opened  with  her  huge  guns 
and  reduced  our  capital  to  a  pile  of  broken  stone. 
Incendiary  shells  completed  the  work  and  two  days 
later  the  most  beautiful  city  in  America  lay  Beneath 
the  Southern  skies  a  smouldering  ash-heap.  The  proud 
shaft  of  shining  marble  to  the  memory  of  George  Wash- 
ington was 'reduced  to  a  mass  of  pulverized  stone.  A 
crater  sixteen  feet  in  depth  gaped  where  its  founda- 
tions had  rested. 

An  indemnity  was  levied  on  New  York  that  robbed 
the  city  of  every  dollar  in  every  vault  and  sent  its 
famous  men  into  'beggared  exile.  Waldron's  list  of 
proscription  for  banishment  included  every  leader  in  the 
world  of  finance,  invention  and  industry. 

He  had  marked  every  man  with  a  genius  for  political 
leadership  for  a  term  of  ten  years'  imprisonment. 
313 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Exile  was  too  dangerous  an  experiment  for  these 
trouble-makers.  They  were  safer  in  jail.  Ten  years  in 
darkness  and  misery  would  bring  them  to  reason. 

The  world's  war  had  cost  the  Imperial  Federation  a 
staggering  total  of  thirty  billions.  Waldron  promised 
his  royal  master  to  replace  every  dollar  of  this  loss 
within  five  years  by  a  system  of  confiscation  and  taxes. 
His  first  acts  of  plunder  sent  treasure  ships  to  Europe 
bearing  fifteen  billions.  The  revenue  from  all  the  con- 
fiscated railroads,  mines,  and  great  industries  taken 
over  by  the  new  government  would  reduce  taxation  in 
Europe  to  a  trifle. 

When  the  conquest  was  complete  the  net  result  was 
that  Imperial  Europe  had  fenced  in  a  continent  with 
bristling  cannon.  Inside  the  inclosure  were  a  hundred 
million  of  the  most  intelligent  and  capable  slaves  the 
world  had  seen  since  the  legions  of  Rome  conquered 
Greece  and  enslaved  her  artists  and  philosophers. 

There  was  no  pause  in  the  ruthless  work  until  the 
last  spark  of  resistance  had  been  stamped  out. 

By  one  of  the  strange  ironies  of  fate  the  fiercest  of 
the  futile  rebellions  broke  out  on  the  East  Side  of  New 
York,  where  the  attempt  was  made  completely  to  dis- 
arm our  half-baked  foreign  population.  The  men  who 
sulked  in  the  tenement  districts  below  the  Bowery  had 
been  accustomed  to  fight  constituted  authority  in  the 
314 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Old  World  from  habit.  The  first  squad  of  soldiers 
sent  into  this  quarter  to  disarm  them  had  never  re- 
turned. Not  one  of  their  bodies  were  found. 

When  a  regiment  with  machine  guns  rushed  in  they 
found  the  side  streets  below  Fourteenth  barricaded  with 
piles  of  trucks  and  lumber.  From  every  window  they 
received  a  hail  of  bullets. 

A  battery  of  artillery  cleared  the  barricades  and 
the  slaughter  began.  After  four  hours  of  butchery  in 
the  streets,  the  commander  discovered  that  the  old 
Tenth  Regiment  Armory  was  crowded.  More  than  a 
thousand  women  and  children  accustomed  to  attend 
Vassar's  school  of  patriotism  had  sought  refuge  there. 

The  children  had  found  the  flags  and  their  mothers  in 
foolish  superstition  had  pinned  them  on  their  breasts 
for  protection — the  flag  they  had  been  taught  to  love! 

The  Imperial  Guard  turned  their  artillery  on  the 
armory  and  tore  the  flimsy  front  wall  into  fragments. 
When  the  screaming  children  and  frantic  women  rushed 
through  the  breach,  a  withering  fire  from  the  pompoms 
piled  their  writhing  bodies  on  the  blood-soaked  pave- 
ments. 

Benda  had  been  killed  in  the  second  intrenchments  on 
Long  Island.  Angela  faced  the  storm  of  lead  at  the 
door,  holding  her  boy  behind  her  back  to  shield  him 
from  the  bullets. 

315 


THE  FALL  OF.  A  NATION 

A  shell  exploded  inside  and  a  fragment  buried  itself 
in  the  child's  breast.  The  mother  felt  the  stinging 
shock  and  heard  the  thud  of  the  iron  crash  into  the 
soft  flesh. 

The  boj  made  no  cry.  The  iron  had  torn  through 
his  heart.  tThe  little  hand  was  lifted  feebly  and 
clutched  the  tiny  flag  that  covered  his  breast. 

With  a  cry  of  anguish  she  clasped  the  bleeding  bundle 
of  flesh  in  her  arms,  ran  through  the  building  and 
found  her  way  into  the  darkened  basement. 

When  the  building  was  cleared  the  commander  en- 
tered with  a  squad  of  soldiers,  lighted  a  cigarette  and 
inspected  the  ruins. 

On  the  blackboards  still  were  standing  in  clear  white 
chalk  the  sentences  and  mottoes  Vassar  had  written: 
ALL  MEN  ARE   CREATED  EQUAL. 

The  Commander  laughed  and  wrote  beneath  it : 

BUT  YOU  COULDN'T  STOP  A  SIXTEEN-INCH 
SHELL  WITH  HOT  AIR! 

The  men  cheered. 

On  the  next  blackboard  stood  the  words : 

LIBERTY— EQUALITY— FRATERNITY. 

The  officer  struck  a  line  through  each  word  and 
wrote  beneath: 

AUTHORITY— OBEDIENCE— EFFICIENCY. 
316 


'  'A  battery  of  artillery  cleared  the  barricades  and  the  slaughter 
began" 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Again  the  soldiers  cheered. 

,Within  three  months  the  fallen  nation  had  been  com- 
pletely disarmed  and  rendered  helpless. 

The  penalty  of  death  was  enforced  against  everyone 
who  dared  to  conceal  a  pistol,  rifle,  shotgun  or  piece  of 
explosive.  The  manufacturing  plants  making  arms  and 
ammunition  were  under  the  control  of  the  invaders. 

.They  not  only  controlled  these  gun  and  shell 
factories,  they  took  possession  of  every  chemical 
laboratory  and  every  piece  of  machinery  that  could  be 
used  to  make  explosives.  It  was  no  more  possible  to 
buy  a  piece  of  dynamite  for  any  purpose  than  to  buy 
a  forty-two  centimeter  siege  gun.  All  blasting  for 
building  and  commercial  purposes  was  done  by  an  of- 
ficer, who  charged  well  for  his  services. 

Every  street  railway  and  trunk  line  was  manned  by 
the  army.  The  ammunition  factories  were  all  working 
with  double  shifts  of  American  laborers,  compelled  by 
their  conquerors  to  turn  out  shells  for  future  use 
against  their  fellow-countrymen. 

Every  newspaper,  magazine  and  publishing-house 
had  installed  an  Imperial  censor.  Not  a  line  was  al- 
lowed to  be  printed  under  penalty  of  death  except  by 
his  order. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  press  was  relegated  to  the 
dust  heap!  as  dead  heresies  against  constituted  author- 
317 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ity.  The  people  were  only  told  what  their  masters  per- 
mitted them  to  hear.  Our  press,  of  course,  was 
unanimous  in  its  praise  of  the  new  Imperial  regime. 
"Law,"  "Order,"  and  "Efficiency"  were  the  new  watch- 
words of  America.  The  people  were  not  asked  to  do 
any  thinking.  Their  masters  did  it  for  them,  their 
part  was  to  oHey. 

Waldron  determined  to  make  Virginia  Holland  the 
leader  of  a  new  woman's  party  to  proclaim  the  bless- 
ings of  the  imperial  and  aristocratic  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

He  honored  her  with  an  invitation  to  his  palace  to 
discuss  his  scheme.  When  Virginia  received  the  per- 
fumed, crested  note,  her  cheeks  flushed  with  joy. 

"Thank  God!"  she  murmured  fervently. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

VIRGINIA  had  just  dressed  in  dead  black  for  her 
visit  to  the  palace  of  the  Governor-General 
on  the  Heights.  Waldron  insisted  on  sending 
a  state  automobile.  The  machine  was  at  the  door 
with  liveried  flunkies  standing  in  stiff  servant  attitudes. 

A  slender  Italian  woman  passed  them  with  a  listless 
stare  and  rang  the  bell  of  the  Holland  house. 

Virginia  answered.  She  had  seen  the  somber  figure 
from  the  window. 

"Angela!"  she  cried  in  surprise. 

Si.  Signorina,  I  may  see — you?" 

"Yes" — was  the  quick,  sympathetic  answer. 

The  drooping  figure  shambled  to  a  seat  and 
dropped. 

"Tell  me — what  has  happened?"  Virginia  urged. 

"You  see  the  papers?" 

"About  the  riots  on  the  East  Side — yes — the  people 
were  very  foolish — " 

The  woman  leaned  close — her  breath  coming  in  deep 
quivering  draughts. 

"They  kill  my  bambino — signorina!  The  shell  tore 
319 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

his  little  heart  all  out — see !  I  bring  the  flag  he  wore — 
all  red  with  blood.  And  now  I  come  to  you — you 
speak  so  grand,  I  want  my  revenge — " 

She  paused,  strangled  with  emotion. 

"I  keep  this  flag  and  I  love  it  too !  I  will  kill  and 
kill  and  kill!  You  will  tell  me  how?  They  kill  your 
father— they  kill  your  brother — you  tell  me,  Signorina ! 
We  fight  now — you  and  me — we  fight  for  this  flag — 
is  it  not  so?" 

She  held  in  her  hand  the  blood-stained  emblem. 

Virginia  took  the  stricken  mother  in  her  arms  and 
sobbed  with  her. 

"Come  with  me,"  she  said  in  low  tones,  leading 
the  way  to  the  sitting-room  in  the  rear.  She  closed 
the  doors,  and  pressed  Angela  to  her  knees. 

Into  the  ears  of  the  kneeling  woman  she  whispered 
an  oath. 

"You  swear?" 

"By  the  mother  of  God  and  all  the  Saints!"  came 
the  quick  answer. 

For  ten  minutes  Virginia  gave  instructions  In  tones 
so  low  that  they  could  not  be  heard  even  by  the  keen- 
est ear  at  her  door. 

There  was  a  light  of  wild  joy  in  the  swarthy  face 
as  she  rose. 

"Now — I   live — I   breathe — Signorina!      Si — si.      I 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

understand!  I  take  the  little  organ  and  monkey.  I 
go.  I  see  all  the  people.  I  whisper  to  those  I  trust. 
We  meet.  I  go  again  to  West  Side  and  do  the  same. 
I  go  everywhere  and  I  tell  you.  Si — si.  I  live  again !" 
She  threw  her  arms  about  Virginia,  held  her  in 
silence  and  left  with  quick,  eager  step — the  light  of 
purpose  flashing  in  her  dark  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  Governor-General  received  Virginia  in  royal 
state.  His  manner  was  gracious  and  genial. 
He  led  her  to  a  seat  in  his  great  library  and 
closed  the  doors.  The  royal  guard  took  his  stand  out- 
side. 

"I  told  you,  Miss  Holland,"  he  began  eagerly,  "that 
I  had  high  ambitions.  You  see  that  I  am  a  man  of  my 
word.  Of  course,  the  thing  that  happened  was  in- 
evitable. It  was  written  in  the  book  of  Fate.  Had  I 
not  seized  the  reins — another  would.  Conditions  made 
my  coup  possible.  For  the  excesses  of  the  Imperial 
Conquering  Army  I  have  no  words  in  palliation.  Such 
is  war.  Had  I  known  the  peril  of  your  father  and 
mother,  I  assure  you  I  would  have  hurried  to  their 
rescue — you  believe  me  when  I  say  this?" 

"I  am  sure  of  it,  now,"  she  answered  promptly. 

"I  hurried  to  Babylon  the  moment  I  learned  that 
the  defense  had  collapsed  and  our  troops  were  vic- 
torious— " 

He  paused  and  leaned  closer. 

"I  want  to  apologize  for  the  unpardonable  blunder 
322 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

I  made  the  last  time  we  met  in  this  house.  I  did  not 
realize  then  how  deeply  and  madly  I  love  you.  In 
anguish  I  learned  it  too  late.  But  I  have  bided  my 
time.  I  have  lived  to  prove  my  devotion  in  the  hour 
of  your  peril  and  I  have  only  begun  what  I  wish  to  do 
for  you — " 

Again  he  paused,  his  eyes  devouring  her  pensive 
beauty. 

"I  had  rather  win  you  than  rule  the  Empire 
that's  mine.  I  would  win  as  a  man  woos  and  wins 
the  one  woman  he  loves — you  believe  me  when  I  say 
this?" 

"Yes,"  was  the  frank  reply.  "I  believe  now  that 
you  are  in  dead  earnest." 

"Good.  I  don't  ask  if  you  love  me.  I  know  that 
you  do  not.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  marry  me  immediately. 
I  know  that  I  must  first  win  your  regard.  I  prize 
you  all  the  more  for  this  reason — " 

"Man-like,  of  course,"  Virginia  interrupted  with  a 
smile. 

"First,  I  wish  to  pay  you  personally  the  highest 
tribute  a  man  in  my  position  can  give  to  any  man  or 
women.  I  am  going  to  offer  you  the  second  highest 
place  in  the  Empire  next  to  mine.  Your  fortune  has 
disappeared  in  the  wreck  of  war.  You  shall  rebuild 
it  tenfold  through  the  work  I  shall  place  in  your  hands. 
323 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

My  first  ambition  now  is  really  to  pacify  the  mind  of 
the  States.    It  can  be  done  through  our  women. 

"I  appeal  to  your  reason.  Here  is  the  situation. 
The  last  hope  of  successful  rebellion  has  been  stamped 
out.  The  millions  of  America,  completely  disarmed, 
are  helpless  to  resist  our  army  of  occupation.  I  wish, 
not  only  to  complete  the  crushing  of  the  last  hope  of 
insurrection;  it  is  my  ambition  to  convince  the  people 
that  the  central  monarchical  and  aristocratic  form  of 
government  is  the  only  natural  order  of  life  and  there- 
fore a  divine  law. 

"The  quick  intuitions  of  women  have  been  always 
more  open  to  this  truth  than  the  more  brutal  and 
anarchistic  male  mind.  Women  have  always  been  the 
bulwark  of  aristocracy  and  imperial  monarchy.  Man 
is  an  anarchist — woman  a  royalist  by  instinct. 

"The  American  democracy  was  only  an  accident  of 
time  and  space.  The  oceans  are  now  the  King's  high- 
way and  he  owns  them  by  right  of  eminent  domain. 
Democracy  can  never  survive  this  bringing  of  the  ends 
of  the  earth  together.  Democracy  cannot  live  because 
when  brought  face  to  face  with  the  monarchical  form 
it  is  not  worthy  to  live.  The  United  States  of  America 
gave  the  human  race  the  one  supreme  example  of  a 
weak,  corrupt  and  contemptible  government.  The  like 
of  it  was  never  known  before  in  the  history  of  man. 
324 


THE  FALL  OF.  A  NATION 

"Democracy  is  a  disease — a  form  of  crowd  ego- 
mania which  drives  millions  of  people  mad  with  the 
insane  delusion  that  they  have  been  called  of  God  to 
do  something  for  which  they  are  utterly  unfitted. 

"All  government  worthy  of  the  name  must  be  con- 
ducted by  a  few  brilliant  minds — divine  leaders — pre- 
sided over  by  a  supreme  leader  whom  we  call  emperor 
or  king.  This  is  true  in  so-called  democracies.  The 
people  only  pretend  to  govern — imagine  that  they 
govern.  They  do  not.  A  few  master  minds  and  brutal 
wills  do  it  for  them.  Hence  the  system  of  bosses  whose 
foul  record  we  have  ended  forever. 

"No  nation  can  have  an  art  or  literature  unless 
monarchical  and  aristocratic — America  has  never  had 
a  literature.  It  will  have  one  only  when  its  conscious 
life  is  reincarnated  in  the  soul  of  a  sovereign  who  takes 
his  crown  from  God,  not  man. 

"The  people  of  this  country  were  never  fit  to  govern 
themselves.  They  got  the  kind  of  government 
they  deserved.  In  Central  Europe  government  has 
long  been  reduced  to  a  science.  Their  cities  are 
clean — their  life  as  orderly  as  the  movement  of  the 
stars. 

"The  monarchical  form  of  government  only  can  an- 
swer the  questions  of  Socialism.  Germany  did  this  a 
generation  ago.  When  the  world- war  came  the 
325 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Socialists  were  as  loyal  to  the  Emperor  as  the  proudest 
prince  of  the  blood. 

"The  conquest  of  America  has  been  the  best  thing 
that  could  have  happened.  Its  battles  were  of  minor  im- 
portance. Had  not  a  powerful  Imperial  government 
come  to  our  rescue  we  would  have  been  deluged  in  blood 
by  a  second  French  Revolution  within  this  generation. 

"The  noblest  minds  in  this  country  have  felt  this 
for  years.  They  have  gradually  been  turning  in  dis- 
gust from  our  corrupt  legislatures,  our  corrupt  courts, 
our  corrupt  municipalities,  our  rotten  boroughs,  our 
corrupt  Congress.  I  tell  you  this  to  show  you  that  I 
have  been  led  by  no  weak  or  vulgar  ambition  into  a 
betrayal  of  the  liberties  of  a  people.  I  believe  in  what 
I  have  done — believe  in  it  with  every  ounce  of  my  man- 
hood. We  owe  the  progress  of  the  human  race  to 
aristocracy,  not  democracy.  Democracy  is  the  great 
leveler  of  the  world — the  destructive  force  that  presses 
humanity  downward  and  backward.  Aristocracy  »is 
the  inspiring  power  that  leads,  uplifts,  creates  and 
beckons  onward  and  upward. 

"All  the  achievements  of  thought  and  science  are  Hy 
the  chosen  few.  The  herd  merely  eats  and  sleeps  and 
reproduces  its  kind.  But  for  the  pressure  from  their 
superiors  the  masses  would  all  lapse  to  elemental 
savagery  within  a  few  brief  generations — " 
326 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Waldron  stopped  suddenly  and  gazed  on  the  placid 
waters  of  the  Hudson. 

Virginia  watched  him  with  genuine  astonishment. 
He  had  revealed  a  new  side  of  his  strong  character. 
She  had  not  dreamed  that  his  philosophy  of  life  had 
been  so  logically  wrought.  She  had  not  believed  since 
his  betrayal  of  his  country  that  he  had  a  philosophy 
of  life  at  all. 

"You  astonish  me  beyond  measure,"  she  said  at 
last. 

He  smiled  coldly. 

"I  understand.  You  did  not  think  me  capable  of 
such  sweeping  thoughts  or  such  close  reasoning — con- 
fess it!" 

"It's  true,  I  didn't—" 

"You  know  now  that  I  am  in  earnest  in  my  political 
ambitions  also?" 

"I'm  thoroughly  convinced — " 

"Good!  You  are  a  woman  of  rare  intelligence  and 
high  ambitions.  It  is  therefore  easy  for  me  to  speak, 
now  that  you  know  that  I  am  sincere — " 

He  held  her  gaze  in  a  moment's  searching  silence. 

"I  may  trust  you  now  I'm  sure  with  a  secret  that 

is  not  a  secret  if  I  should  be  accused.     You  will  know 

that  I  mean  something  very  definite  when  I  say  that 

this  nation  is  too  great,  its  resources  too  exhaustless 

327 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

to  remain  forever  a  conquered  province  of  Imperial 
Europe.  Am  I  not  right?" 

"At  least  I  hope  so,"  was  the  diplomatic  reply. 

"Exactly,"  Waldron  answered  confidentially.  "In 
other  words  the  day  will  come  when  a  political  leader 
of  supreme  genius  will  win  the  utter  loyalty  and  con- 
fidence of  the  soldiers  who  hold  these  millions  in 
hand.  The  man  who  does  that  will  ascend  a  throne  in 
Washington  in  a  palace  worthy  of  a  Continental  Em- 
pire washed  by  two  oceans — you  understand?" 

"I  see!"  Virginia  breathed. 

"Remember  then,  dear  young  lady,  that  I  am  your 
servant  from  today.  If  I  have  high  ambitions  and 
glorious  dreams  for  my  people  and  my  country,  I 
dream  new  glories  for  you — " 

"And  the  commission  you  would  offer  me?"  she  asked 
steadily. 

"That  you  organize  the  women  of  America  into  loyal 
legions  who  will  sustain  the  government  against  the 
possible  forces  of  anarchy  and  rebellion.  If  you  will 
consider  the  offer  I  will  place  unlimited  money  at 
your  command.  The  old  regime  is  gone  forever. 
You  can  help  me  now  to  organize  a  nobler  one  on  its 
ruins." 

"And  my  reward?" 

"I  shall  lay  at  your  feet  all  that  I  am  and  have  and 
328 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

ever  hope  to  be.  I  offer  it  now  without  condition  if 
jou  will  accept  my  hand  in  marriage — " 

"Your  commission  I  accept  at  once,"  was  the  prompt 
reply.  "If  I  succeed  we  shall  meet  on  terms  more 
nearly  equal." 

Waldron  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  her  hand  and 
kissed  it. 

Could  we  have  seen  the  expression  of  her  white  face 
when  his  lips  touched  her  flesh  he  would  not  have 
smiled  as  he  led  her  to  the  waiting  car.  -' 


CHAPTER  XL 

I  HE  jails  were  crowded  with  our  leading  states- 
men.   The  President  and  his  Cabinet  had  been 
transferred  to  Fort  Warren  at  Boston  before 
the  Capitol  was  destroyed. 

The  Honorable  Plato  Barker,  for  reasons  deemed 
sufficient  by  the  Governor-General,  was  placed  in  the 
United  States  penitentiary  at  Albany.  In  spite  of  his 
mania  for  peace,  Waldron  thoroughly  mistrusted  him. 
His  passion  for  oratorical  leadership  he  knew  to  be  in- 
satiate. What  fool  scheme  he  might  advocate  in  secret 
could  not  be  guessed.  In  vain  Barker  offered  to  take 
the  iron-clad  Imperial  oath.  Waldron  was  deaf  to  all 
entreaties  even  when  the  petition  was  borne  to  him  by 
the  officer  of  the  army  who  had  captured  the  silver- 
tongued  leader  and  made  him  a  scullion.  Villard,  the 
Commanding  General,  had  allowed  Barker  to  deliver 
Sunday  lectures  to  his  soldiers  on  harmless  themes  of 
Chautauqua  fame.  The  Commander  had  grown  to  like 
the  orator  as  a  harmless  sort  of  court  jester.  He  was 
particularly  fond  of  his  illustrations  and  jokes.  He 
declared  that  Barker  had  missed  his  calling — he  should 
have  been  an  evangelist  or  a  clown. 
330 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

Failing  to  release  his  favorite  captive  the  General 
interceded  to  save  his  reason. 

Barker  could  not  endure  the  silence  to  which  he 
had  been  doomed.  His  mind  began  to  break  under  the 
strain.  He  was  saved  from  madness  by  an  order  which 
permitted  him  to  preach  to  the  prisoners  on  Sunday. 

His  first  discourse  was  on  "The  Extraordinary  Food 
Value  of  Grape  Juice." 

The  men  who  were  living  on  bread  and  water  didn't 
like  it. 

The  lecture  was  interrupted  by  an  incipient  riot. 
He  was  compelled  to  drop  the  subject  and  stick  to 
historical  religion.  He  switched  to  a  discourse  on 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  which  was  well  received.  It  in  no 
way  mocked  the  appetites  of  his  hearers. 

Pike  proved  to  be  another  proposition  for  his  captor. 
He  became  so  peevish  and  sullen  that  his  taskmaster 
went  out  of  his  way  to  make  his  life  unendurable.  The 
bow-legged  Commander  not  only  continually  repeated 
Pike's  former  expressions  on  the  dangers  of  being 
armed  and  the  wickedness  of  being  prepared  for  de- 
fense in  the  presence  of  the  preacher  while  he  danced 
attendance  as  a  waiter  at  his  headquarters,  but  he 
added  insult  to  injury  at  last  by  forcing  the  advocate 
of  peace  to  become  an  expert  shot  by  daily  target 
practice. 

331 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

When  Waldron  ordered  the  doughty  cavalry  leader 
to  St.  Louis,  he  dragged  Pike  with  him  to  continue 
his  systematic  torture.  He  piled  the  last  straw  on  the 
little  man's  back  the  day  after  their  arrival  in  the 
new  quarters  by  ordering  him  to  don  the  uniform  of 
the  Emperor,  join  a  firing  squad  and  shoot  a  deserter. 

The  preacher  refused  point  blank.  To  have  his 
fun  the  General  ordered  two  guardsmen  to  bring 
the  rebel  to  his  room  and  force  him  into  the  uniform 
— his  horse  was  standing  at  the  door  saddled  and 
ready  to  gallop  to  the  field  and  watch  Pike  faint  at  the 
ordeal. 

The  General  roared  with  laughter  when  he  finally 
stood  forth  arrayed  in  the  brown  uniform  of  the  army. 
The  guardsmen  in  their  shirtsleeves  were  laughing  too. 
He  had  struggled  manfully  to  prevent  the  outrage  and 
they  had  only  drawn  the  clothes  on  him  by  main  force. 
It  took  the  hostler  at  the  door  finally  to  win  the  con- 
test. 

"Cheer  up,  Cuthbert,  you'll  soon  be  dead!"  the  of- 
ficer cried. 

The  boys  roared. 

With  a  sudden  panther  leap  Pike  was  on  the  General, 
snatched  his  automatic  from  his  belt,  shot  him  dead  and 
killed  the  three  men  before  they  recovered  from  the 
shock. 

332 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

With  a  second  leap  he  was  on  the  waiting  horse  and 
calmly  galloped  through  the  camp  before  the  guards 
discovered  the  incident. 

He  found  his  way  to  General  Hood's  headquarters 
in  the  Sierra  Nevadas  and  reported  for  duty. 

"Keep  your  uniform!"  Hood  laughed.  "We'll  need 
it  for  scout  work." 

"Sure  I'll  keep  it,"  the  preacher  snapped — "  and 
use  it  myself,  sir !  I'll  show  them  that  my  name's  Pike 
—not  Piker!" 

The  General  despatched  him  to  the  Coast  on  an 
important  and  dangerous  mission. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

VIRGINIA  HOLLAND'S  conversion  to  the  open 
advocacy  of  the  principles  of  monarchy  and 
aristocracy  was  Waldron's  first  sensation  in 
the  campaign  in  which  he  began  to  destroy  the  American 
conception  of  liberty. 

Her  confession  of  faith  was  a  liberal  outline  of 
the  ideals  which  the  Governor-General  had  proclaimed 
in  his  library.  Waldron  was  elated  at  his  complete 
triumph. 

Her  brief  statement  and  appeal  to  the  women  of 
America  to  support  her  movement  of  loyalty  he  ordered 
printed  in  every  newspaper  in  the  country.  It  duly 
appeared  on  the  front  pages,  accompanied  by  a  por- 
trait of  the  distinguished  young  convert. 

Her  first  year's  engagements  in  organizing  the 
Woman's  Imperial  Legion  of  Honor  covered  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  every  state. 

Her   appeal  had  been   received  by   the   women   of- 

America  with  secret  rage,  amazement  and  horror.     The 

Government  had  commanded  their  attendance  on  her 

lectures.      Her   reception   at   first   had   been   cold   and 

334 


THE  FALL  OF  'A  NATION 

formal.  But  her  magnetic  personality  turned  the  tide. 
Within  a  month  there  was  no  hall  large  enough  in 
America  to  hold  the  breathless  throngs  of  women  who 
hung  on  her  words.  And  strangest  of  all,  they  cheered 
her  with  an  enthusiasm  that  amazed  Waldron. 

His  agents  reported  this  enthusiasm  with  oft-re- 
peated praise  of  her  uncanny  genius. 

The  secret  of  her  popularity  they  had  not  dreamed. 
In  each  town  she  took  into  her  confidence  but  one 
woman  on  whose  love  for  country  she  could  depend 
with  absolute  certainty.  This  woman  she  swore  in 
secret  to  organize  an  inner  circle  whose  name  to  them 
was  the  Daughters  of  Jael.  The  spies  who  followed 
her  tour  to  report  to  the  Governor-General  never 
reached  this  inner  circle.  In  it  were  taken  under 
solemn  oath  those  whose  love  for  liberty  was  a  religion. 

The  Daughters  of  Jael  comprised  only  the  wisest 
women  leaders,  and  with  them  the  strongest  and  most 
beautiful  girls  in  the  glory  of  youth  from  twenty  to 
thirty  years  of  age. 

They  were  taught  in  secret  two  things — to  keep 
their  lithe  young  bodies  hard  and  sun-tanned  and  learn 
to  wield  a  steel  knife  whose  blade  was  eight  inches  long, 
slender  and  keen.  When  a  million  had  been  sworn  and 
trained  the  order  would  come  to  strike  for  freedom. 
The  rank  and  file  knew  nothing  of  this  purpose.  Only 
335 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

their  leaders  knew.  Each  had  sworn  to  lay  their  souls 
and  bodies  a  free  offering  on  their  country's  altar  and 
to  obey  their  commander's  word  as  the  law  of  God. 

It  was  two  years  from  the  beginning  before  Virginia 
ventured  to  meet  her  lover  in  a  deep  mountain  gorge 
of  the  inner  Sierras. 

Their  embrace  was  long  and  silent.  They  spoke  at 
last  in  low,  half-articulate  sounds  that  only  love  could 
hear  and  know. 

When  the  first  wave  of  emotion  had  spent  itself, 
she  asked  him  eagerly : 

"Your  last  invention — the  aerial  torpedo?" 

"A  failure  like  the  rest !"  he  answered  sadly.  "Great 
inventions  that  revolutionize  warfare  have  all  required 
years  to  perfect — the  ironclad  a  generation,  the  sub- 
marine ten  fyears,  the  aeroplane  ten  years.  They  re- 
quired the  genius  of  hundreds  in  their  experiments  and 
the  lives  of  thousands.  The  hope  of  miraculous  in- 
ventions in  an  hour  of  crisis  is  only  the  vain  dream 
of  the  novelist.  We  have  ceased  to  hope  for  such  de- 
liverance. We  are  training  men  to  master  the  already 
perfected  mechanism  of  the  submarine — thousands  of 
them,  take,  the  inventor,  is  an  admiral.  We  have  a 
model  ali  work  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  I 
command  the  Eagle's  Nest,  the  camp  on  a  great 
mountain  plateau  where  we  are  training  thousands  of 
336 


THE  FALL  OF,  A  NATION 

aviators.  On  another  peak  among  the  stars  we  are 
teaching  men  to  use  the  range  finders  and  swing  big 
guns  to  strike  a  target  at  twelve  miles.  Most  impor- 
tant of  all  we  are  teaching  each  and  every  man  how  to 
use  cold  steel  at  close  range — " 

"You  fully  accept  my  scheme  then?"  she  inter- 
rupted. 

"As  an  inspiration  of  God!  The  staff  has  tested  it 
with  a  hundred  hostile  suppositions.  It  is  sure  to  win 
if  you  can  train  a  million  girls  to  co-operate  with  us 
in  the  uprising,  win  to  our  cause  one  man  in  ten  in  the 
Imperial  Army,  and  wield  a  knife  with  deadly  power. 
The  only  question  is,  can  you  get  those  girls?" 

"I  have  them  already — " 

"A  million?" 

"And  more — I  had  to  stop.  I  could  have  sworn 
another  million." 

"We  will  be  ready  in  three  months — 5> 

"You  can  have  four — " 
"  "You  have  fixed  the  date?" 

"Yes.  There  can  be  but  one — the  Emperor's  birth- 
day—" 

Vassar  clasped  Virginia  in  his  arms. 

"Dearest — you're  inspired — I  swear  it !" 

"I  have  positive  assurance,"  she  went  on  eagerly, 
"that    our    girls    have    already   won   more    than    two 
337 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

hundred  thousand  soldiers  of  the  enemy  who  will  join 
us  the  night  we  strike.  Every  officer  will  be  in  his 
cups  that  night.  A  Belshazzar's  feast,  with  Waldron 
as  their  toastmaster !" 

"And  not  merely  in  New  York—"  he  added,  "but  in 
every  city  in  America — on  every  ship — in  every  avia- 
tion hangar  and  on  board  every  submarine — once  their 
guns  are  in  our  hands — !" 

"We'll  take  them — never  fear — "  she  cried. 

"If  we  can  only  get  our  hands  on  half  their  rifles, 
half  their  machine  guns,  half  the  ships  and  half  the 
aircraft  we'll  win!  The  fiends  of  hell  never  fought  as 
we  shall  fight !  We'll  get  them  too — "  he  stopped  over- 
whelmed with  emotion.  "It's  the  knife  at  close 
quarters  in  the  dark,  man  to  man,  muscle  and  steel,  and 
dauntless  hearts,  that  will  turn  the  trick.  How 
little  we've  traveled  after  all  our  boasted  science!  All 
your  girls  will  have  to  do  is  to  get  them  drunk  that 
night,  rally  your  converts,  strike  down  the  outer  guards 
— smuggle  in  a  few  guns  and  we'll  do  the  rest. 

"We'll  give  your  men  more  than  half  their  rifles," 
Virginia  promised.  "And  what's  more  we  will  put 
their  trained  artillerymen,  aviators  and  submarime  ex- 
perts out  of  commission  to  a  man  that  night.  We  will 
detail  two  girls  for  each  of  these  men — there'll  be  no 
blunder—" 

338 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"There's  just  one  thing  I  don't  like — "  he  broke  in 
with  clenched  fists. 

"Yes,  I  know,  my  lover!"  she  smiled. 

"You've  got  to  make  love  to  those  brutes,  flatter 
and  cajole  them  for  weeks.  You  are  risking  what  we 
hold  more  precious  than  life — " 

"We  have  sworn  to  give  as  God  has  given  us — all — " 

"I  don't  like  it— I  don't  like  it !"  he  protested  bitterly. 

She  slipped  her  arms  about  his  neck.  Her  eyes 
sought  his  with  yearning  in  their  depths. 

"Never  speak  or  think  that  thought  of  me  again,  my 
own,"  she  whispered.  "I,  too,  know  how  to  die  as  well  as 
you.  This  is  the  third  and  last  lesson  we  shall  teach  the 
Daughters  of  Jael  before  the  Day  dawns!  Those  who 
give  their  honor  will  scorn  the  cheaper  gift  of  life.  The 
new  sun  will  rise  on  a  clean  and  glorious  womanhood, 
redeemed  by  sorrow  and  humbled  by  a  divine  passion  for 
country  we  could  learn  in  no  other  school  but  this !" 

She  held  him  at  arm's  length  and  slowly  slipped  her 
hands  from  his  and  waved  him  back. 

"No  more — until  the  Day  dawns!" 

"Until  the  Day  dawns,  my  love!"  he  breathed  ten- 
derly. 

She  leaped  on  her  pony  and  galloped  into  the  solemn 
night  alone — to  deliver  her  orders  to  the  Daughters  of 
Jael  for  their  third  and  final  lesson. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  preparations  for  the  grand  celebration  of 
the  Conqueror's  birthday  by  the  people  of 
America  were  complete  to  the  last  detail  at 
noon  on  the  day  preceding. 

The  Governor-General  was  determined  to  make  this 
event  an  example  in  promptness,  glorious  display  and 
perfect  efficiency.  How  prompt  and  efficient  its 
real  managers  were  going  to  make  it  he  could  not 
dream ! 

Every  suspicion  of  disloyalty  had  been  put  at  rest 
by  the  eager  enthusiasm  with  which  the  Woman's 
Legion  of  Honor,  with  its  five  thousand  chapters,  had 
taken  the  lead  in  preparation  under  Virginia's  bril- 
liant direction.  For  three  months  the  most  beautiful 
girls  in  America  had  vied  with  one  another  in  courting 
the  favor  of  the  army  for  the  approaching  festival. 
From  the  Governor-General  down  to  the  sailors  of  the 
fleet  our  girls  had  eyes  only  for  the  Imperial  Army 
uniforms. 

The  artillerymen,  the  aviators,  and  the  submarine 
experts  were  the  favorites.  The  conquerors  began  to 
340 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

feel  a  contemptuous  pity  for  the  poor  native  devils 
their  charms  had  put  out  of  the  running. 

Even  the  chauffeurs  and  railroad  officials  were  every- 
where courted  and  feted  by  the  fair  ones.  Every  rail- 
road agent,  conductor,  dispatcher,  and  superintendent 
was  an  officer  in  the  Imperial  Army.  These  men,  who 
had  rarely  shared  the  glory  of  the  regular  army, 
were  particularly  elated  over  their  triumphs  with  the 
girls. 

When  the  Day  dawned  every  terminal  and  every 
train  in  America  was  decorated  with  the  royal  flags. 
,The  spirit  of  abandonment  to  joy  in  a  strange,  sub- 
dued mania  swept  the  nation.  Beneath  it  beat  the  throb- 
bing hearts  of  a  million  Sons  of  the  New  Revolution  and 
a  million  Daughters  of  Jael  who  had  offered  their  souls 
and  bodies  a  living  sacrifice  for  the  glory  of  the  Day. 
The  contagion  of  earnestness  from  these  eager  millions 
of  young  men  and  women  set  every  heart  to  beating 
with  expectant  awe. 

Angela  received  her  final  instructions  at  the  Holland 
house  at  six  o'clock.  The  magnificent  display  of  fire- 
works would  begin  at  eight-thirty,  the  dancing  at  nine- 
thirty,  the  banquet  at  eleven-thirty. 

"You  have  a  girl  with  every  chauffeur?"  Virginia 
asked  sharply. 

"Si,  signorina — "  Angela  paused  and  smiled. 
341 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"And  they  have  learned  to  drive,  too — yes — they  have 
had  some  fun  these  three  months !" 

"At  the  Seventy-first  Armory,  a  girl  for  every  sailor 
of  the  fleet?" 

"For  every  one — " 

"At  the  Twelfth  Regiment?" 

"For  the  birdmen's  chauffeurs — I  have  two — very 
prettiest  girls — two  for  each — " 

"At  the  Seventh  Regiment?" 

"A  girl  for  every  waiter  to  help  them  serve.  My 
girls  they  help  the  waiters  everywhere — " 

A  look  of  fierce  triumph  overspread  the  dark  fea- 
tures of  the  little  mother.  Her  eyes  grew  misty.  She 
fumbled  in  her  bosom  and  slowly  drew  out  the  blood- 
stained flag  her  boy  had  worn  on  his  breast. 

"And  I  have  the  flag,  signorina!  When  I  tear  the 
red  crown  from  the  staff  I  wave  this  one  and  shout 
for  my  bambino." 

Virginia  merely  nodded.  Her  mind  was  sweeping 
the  last  possibility  of  accident. 

"You  haven't  been  able  to  reach  a  single  man  among 
the  wireless  operators  of  the  Woolworth  tower?"  she 
asked  dreamily. 

"Not  one,  signorina.  The  old  devil  up  there  don't 
like  the  girls.  He  is  not  human — " 

"There's  no  help  for  it  then,"  she  answered.  "We'll 
342 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

try  another  way.  When  all  is  ready  attend  me  at  the 
palace  of  the  Governor-General.  When  the  signal 
flashes  from  the  Metropolitan  tower  I  want  the  car  I 
always  drive  at  the  door  instantly — " 

"Si,  signorina — my  chauffeur  he  like  me  very  much 
• — I  must  think  of  my  bambino  when  I  strike!" 

"You  will  not  fail?"  Virginia  sternly  asked. 

Angela  touched  the  little  flag  and  shook  her 
head. 

"Do  not  fear — I  shall  not  fail!"  She  paused,  bent 
close  and  whispered,  "My  chauffeur  join  our  men,  sig- 
norina— the  Sergeant  of  the  big  guns,  too.  He  swear 
to  me  the  guns  shall  be  ours !" 

With  a  quick  pressure  of  her  hand  Virginia  hurried 
to  enter  the  car  of  state  which  was  already  standing  at 
the  door. 

The  streets  were  thronged  with  thousands  who  talked 
in  subdued  tones.  They  had  felt  the  iron  hand  on  their 
throats  too  often  during  the  past  three  years  to 
abandon  themselves  to  the  occasion. 

There  were  no  screeching  horns,  no  riotous  boys  and 
girls  hurling  confetti.  Such  crude  expressions  of 
liberty  were  forbidden. 

Beneath  the  outer  quiet  slumbered  the  coming 
volcano. 

Virginia  drove  to  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  sent  her  card 
343 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

to    a   distinguished   guest   and   was   ushered   into   his 
parlors. 

The  dark  foreigner  with  a  Van  Dyke  beard  bowed 
over  her  hand. 

"Your  Lordship  had  a  pleasant  trip  across  I  trust?" 
she  asked. 

The  door  closed  and  they  were  alone. 

With  a  smothered  cry  she  was  in  Vassar's  arms  mur- 
muring foolish,  inarticulate  sounds. 

She  freed  herself  with  quick  decision. 

"There's  not  a  moment  to  be  lost,"  Virginia  whis- 
pered. "I've  failed  to  reach  a  single  man  in  the  Wool- 
worth  tower." 

"It  must  be  taken  then!"  he  answered  firmly.  "I 
have  ordered  the  other  stations  destroyed.  We  must 
hold  that  before  we  strike  in  the  banquet  halls.  I've 
made  my  plans  to  call  our  cavalry  and  automobile 
orders  from  there.  Our  first  line  of  men  must  mobilize 
and  be  on  their  way  within  five  minutes  after  the 
searchlight  signals  from  the  Square — " 

He  paused  thoughtfully. 

"There's  not  a  moment  to  be  lost.  I'll  take  that 
tower  myself.  Send  three  of  your  girls  to  meet  me 
there  at  nine  o'clock  dressed  as  country  folks  on  a 
sight-seeing  trip  to  the  city — " 

"Armed  of  course?" 

344 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Yes— with  automatics  if  you  have  them — I'll 
find  a  way  to  get  them  up  to  see  the  fireworks." 

At  nine  o'clock  a  noisy  group  of  country  louts  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  room  that  led  by  a  narrow  wind- 
ing stairs  to  the  upper  room  of  the  Woolworth  tower. 
They  were  singing  loyal  songs  for  God  and  Emperor! 
Their  pilot  was  drunk  but  good-natured  and  deter- 
mined to  show  them  the  pinnacle. 

The  cautious  red-faced  Captain  in  charge  of  the 
wireless,  who  had  been  celebrating  a  little  on  the  quiet, 
had  thawed  to  a  genial  mood. 

"T'ree  cheers  for  Zemperor!"  the  jovial  pilot  from 
the  country  shouted. 

The  <Japtain  laughed  and  joined  the  chorus.  He 
glanced  contemptuously  at  the  giggling  girls. 

"Say,  Cap,"  the  leader  cried,  leaning  heavily  on  his 
shoulder — "my  girls  gotter  see  the  fireworks — from 
the  top — tip  top !  I  promised  'em  I'd  take  'em  to 
the  very  tip  top — gotter  make  good — " 

His  legs  wobbled  and  his  breath  was  heavy  with  beer. 

The  Captain  laughed. 

"Think  you  could  climb  these  winding  stairs?" 

"Surest  thing  you  know." 

The  drunken  man  staggered  to  the  steps,  rushed 
half  way  up,  slipped  and  fell,  sprawling  to  the  floor. 

The  Captain  roared. 

345 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Try  again !"  he  shouted.  "I'll  let  you  go  but  not 
these  women!" 

The  girls  joined  in  the  laughter  while  he  made 
another  ludicrous  effort  and  slipped  again. 

The  two  operators  left  their  instruments  and  peered 
down  the  shaft. 

"Go  back  to  your  places^this  is  my  show!"  the 
Captain  called. 

The  drunken  countryman  watched  them  withdraw 
with  wagging  head  but  keen  eye.  He  saw  there  were 
only  two.  He  knew  his  task  now. 

He  made  another  desperate  effort  to  climb  the  spiral, 
turned  a  complete  somersault  and  came  down  headfore- 
most. 

The  Captain  slipped  to  a  sitting  posture  weak  with 
laughter. 

"Shay,  pardner,  help  me!"  the  drunken  one 
pleaded. 

"No — this  is  my  show — it's  too  good  to  lose — I'm 
the  audience — help  yourself!" 

The  drunken  countryman  tried  it  backward  this  time, 
holding  first  to  the  rail. 

The  Captain  wiped  the  tears  from  his  eyes  and  bent 
again  to  laugh  as  the  fool  reached  the  last  step  and 
waved  in  triumph.     He  turned  and  staggered  against 
the  wall  feeling  his  way  to  the  door  beyond. 
346 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

The  girls  crowded  about  the  Captain. 

"Please  let  us  go  too!"  they  chimed  in  chorus. 

The  Captain  was  adamant.  They  kept  up  their 
parrot  cries  until  the  crash  above  came.  They  heard 
the  blow  that  felled  the  first  operator — the  shuffle  of 
feet,  the  tiger  spring,  the  smothered  cry. 

It  was  all  over  with  the  Captain  before  the  cry. 
Three  fierce,  athletic  girls  bore  him  to  the  floor  and 
held  his  writhing  body  until  it  was  still. 

"All  right!"  Vassar  called.  "Stand  guard  now  at 
the  door  leading  from  the  elevator — inside  the  door. 
Let  no  one  pass!" 

The  leader  of  his  guard  touched  her  hat  in  salute. 
He  took  his  place  at  the  operator's  table  and  answered 
a  call  from  the  tower  of  the  Governor-General's  palace. 

"Your  wireless  stations  have  all  answered?"  the 
machine  sang. 

"All" — was  the  brief  answer. 

"I'll  give  you  the  signal  for  the  Emperor's  toast  on 
the  stroke  of  twelve." 

"Good!"  Vassar  answered  with  a  grim  smile. 


CHAPTER  XLHI 

BEFORE  eleven  o'clock  the  Daughters  of  Jael, 
accorded  the  place  of  honor  at  every  banquet 
hall,  had  succeeded  in  slipping  from  drunken 
soldiers  and  sailors  thousands  of  arms.  Swift  auto- 
mobiles, commandeered  by  their  persuasive  voices,  or 
taken  by  direct  attack  from  maudlin  chauffeurs,  were 
speeding  with  these  guns  to  the  appointed  places.  More 
than  two  hundred  thousand  soldiers  of  the  Imperial 
Army  have  deserted  to  our  colors. 

Ten  thousand  rough  riders  from  the  Western  plains 
had  been  smuggled  into  the  suburban  districts  of  New 
York  since  the  embargo  on  horses  had  been  lifted.  They 
were  armed  with  lances  and  only  awaited  the  advent 
of  revolvers  to  lead  the  attack. 

Each  soldier  from  the  Far  West  had  reached  the 
Eastern  seaboard  as  an  individual  and  reported  se- 
cretly to  his  commander.  They  were  in  their  brown 
kahki  suits  tonight  stripped  for  action,  awaiting  the 
signal  to  strike. 

Billy  Holland,  a  captain  of  infantry,  had  been 
chosen  by  Vassar  to  lead  the  assault  on  Waldron's 
348 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

place.  His  sweetheart  and  sister  were  behind  the  walls  of 
the  Governor-General's  magnificent  house  and  the  divi- 
sion leader  knew  the  boy's  mettle.  That  he  would  give 
a  good  account  of  himself  Vassar  was  absolutely  sure. 

As  Waldron  entered  the  grand  ballroom,  accom- 
panied by  Virginia,  Marya,  Zonia  and  a  group  of 
young  admiring  officers,  Billy  led  his  men  cautiously 
through  the  underbrush  toward  the  house. 

On  the  signal  of  the  toast  to  the  Emperor,  the 
Daughters  of  Jael  had  agreed  to  join  their  lovers,  ex- 
tinguish the  lights,  strike  down  the  sentinels  and  the 
rest  would  be  easy. 

The  men  in  the  palace  were  joyously  drunk  before 
eleven.  Only  a  few  officers  survived  the  siren  call  of 
the  cup  urged  by  the  charming  girls  in  their  white  and 
gold  uniforms. 

Waldron  led  the  dancing  with  Virginia  Holland. 
He  moved  with  the  easy  grace  of  a  master,  never  miss- 
ing for  an  instant  the  perfect  rhythm  of  her  lithe, 
graceful  body. 

The  surprise  of  the  evening  for  the  Governor-Gen- 
eral had  been  the  appearance  of  every  American  woman 
wearing  the  shining  helmet  of  the  soldier  of  the  ranks 
in  token  of  their  full  surrender  to  Imperial  authority. 

"A  beautiful  idea — those  helmets!"  he  whispered  as 
they  swept  through  the  throng. 
349 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"You  are  pleased?" 

"I  am  more  than  pleased,  I  am  happy  tonight.  I 
know  that  only  your  brilliant  imagination  could  have 
conceived  so  graceful  a  tribute  to  my  Imperial 
Master—" 

He  paused. 

"You  are  closer  to  me  tonight  than  ever  before,"  he 
said  softly.  "I  feel  it,  I  know  it." 

She  turned  her  head  and  breathed  her  answer: 

"Yes—" 

The  dancing  ended  at  eleven-thirty.  Waldron 
gave  his  arm  to  Virginia  and  led  the  way  to  the 
banquet  tables.  A  band  of  stringed  instruments, 
concealed  in  bowers  of  roses,  filled  the  room  with 
exquisite  music.  The  waiters  moved  with  swift,  noiseless 
tread. 

The  revelry  steadily  grew  faster,  the  drinking 
deeper,  the  dancing  more  exciting. 

Billy's  men  had  dropped  flat  and  were  crawling 
toward  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  palace  when  a 
light  footfall  was  distinctly  heard  approaching.  Billy 
lifted  his  head  and  saw  Zonia.  She  halted  with  quick 
precision  and  gave  the  countersign. 

In  a  moment  she  was  in  his  arms. 

"What  on  earth's  the  matter,  little  girl?"  he  whis- 
pered excitedly. 

S50 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Virginia  fears  that  Waldron  suspects,"  was  the 
quick  answer. 

"Nonsense" — • 

"He  has  doubled  the  guard — Virginia  says  you'd 
better  retreat  until  a  full  division  comes  up — " 

"I'll  not  do  it,"  Billy  broke  in.  "Four  to  one,  or 
ten  to  one,  I'm  going  to  take  that  house — " 

"She'll  give  the  signal  if  I  don't  return,"  Zonia 
warned. 

"All  right — I'm  ready,"  was  the  firm  response.  In 
quick  business  fashion  Billy  led  Zonia  back  of  his 
lines.  "Wait  here  and  report  if  I  fail" — 

The  young  Captain  crept  back  to  his  place  and 
watched  for  the  flash  from  the  Madison  Square  tower 
and  the  signal  of  lights  out  from  within. 

On  the  stroke  of  twelve,  Waldron  rose,  lifted  his 
glass  and  gave  the  toast — the  exact  form  of  which  he 
had  sent  to  every  toastmaster  in  America: 

"To  the  Lord  of  War — master  of  the  world — the 
Emperor !" 

Virginia's  left  hand  clasped  the  glass,  her  right  was 
lifted  with  nervous  intensity  giving  the  sign  of  the 
Daughters  of  Jael  to  Marya  whose  hand  was  on  the 
electric  switch.  The  searchlight  on  the  Madison  Square 
tower  flashed  and  every  whistle  in  the  city  and  harbor 
screamed  its  tribute. 

351 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

[With  a  sudden  click  the  lights  went  out.  In  total 
darkness  again  and  again  the  blows  of  the  dagger 
found  their  mark  on  the  sentinels  at  the  door.  Over 
the  curses,  groans  and  shouts  rang  the  shrill  battle 
cry  of  the  Daughters  of  Jael: 

"For  our  God  and  country!" 

Waldron's  keen  eye  caught  the  tremor  of  Virginia's 
fingers  as  she  gave  the  sign  to  Marya.  The  uplifted 
glass  came  down  with  a  crash  and  his  iron  fist  closed 
on  her  right  hand. 

"So!"  he  growled. 

She  fought  with  tigress  strength  to  free  her  hand 
and  reach  the  knife  concealed  in  her  bodice. 

Waldron  shouted  through  the  darkness,  "Lights ! 
Lights!" 

His  servants  threw  the  switch  in  vain.  The  current 
had  been  cut. 

With  muttered  curses  he  choked  Virginia  still,  car- 
ried her  in  his  arms  into  his  library,  tore  the  knife 
from  her  bodice  and  flung  her  across  the  room. 

"Move  a  muscle  now — damn  you !  and  I'll  blow  your 
brains  out."  He  had  found  a  pair  of  automatics  in 
his  table  drawer. 

He  called  from  the  doorway  and  two  guards  who  had 
rushed  in  from  the  lawn  answered. 

He  pointed  to  Virginia. 
352 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"If  she  moves,  shoot  her  dead  in  her  tracks.  Stay 
until  I  return." 

Ha  sprang  up  the  narrow  steps  tlo  the  wireless 
tower.  His  operator  sat  lifeless  in  his  chair. 

He  seized  the  keys  and  called  central  in  the  Wool- 
worth  tower. 

"The  Garrison  to  arms !  At  once — every  man  to  his 
place  and  every  ship's  deck  cleared!" 

The  tower  answered  O.  K. 

Vassar  sprang  to  his  feet  trembling  with  alarm. 

She  had  failed  at  the  Palace.  What  did  it  mean? 
Her  life  was  in  peril.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of  it. 

He  called  every  wireless  station  of  the  enemy  on  the 
North  Atlantic.  Not  one  answered. 

"Good!"  he  muttered. 

He  summoned  the  nearest  operator  to  his  relief  in 
the  tower: 

"Come,  for  God's  sake,  quick,"  he  called  to  Brook- 
lyn, "and  bring  me  a  car — there's  trouble  at  the 
Palace—" 

"Coming!"  the  answer  sang. 

In  fifteen  minutes  an  automobile  dashed  across  the 
bridge  and  drew  up  on  the  curb  at  the  Woolworth 
building. 

The  new  operator  took  his  instructions  and  Vassar 
turned  to  the  chauffeur: 

353 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 


"Quick  now — to  the  Sixty-ninth  Regiment  Armory. 
We  have  men  and  guns  there." 

Angela  had  waited  in  the  machine  for  her  leader 
to  leap  from  the  Palace  and  drive  to  the  first  cavalry 
rendezvous  in  Westchester.  Her  chauffeur  sat  by  her 
side,  smiling,  his  belt  and  automatic  about  her  waist. 

She  heard  the  shout  of  Waldron  for  the  guards  and 
knew  that  the  complete  plan  had  failed.  Billy's  men 
had  been  crushed  by  superior  numbers  and  driven  to 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  great  man's  servants  were 
trained  soldiers.  They  would  fight  like  devils  inside. 

With  quick  wit  she  threw  in  the  clutch  and  the  big 
touring-car  shot  down  the  road  and  flew  over  the 
smooth  open  way  of  Riverside  Drive.  In  fifteen  min- 
utes she  overtook  the  first  division  of  horsemen  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  galloping  to  their  appointed  ren- 
dezvous. 

"To  the  Palace  of  the  Governor-General!  Quick!" 
she  shouted  to  the  Captain.  "Take  my  car — I  can 
take  your  horse — quick!  Quick!  Our  leader's  a 
prisoner — or  dead — they  fight  and  fight.  Quick!" 

The  Captain  sprang  from  his  horse,  called  to  the 
chauffeur,  leaped  into  the  car  and  gave  his  horse  to 
Angela.  She  had  learned  horsemanship  too  in  these  two 
years  of  training. 

"You  know  the  rendezvous?"  the  Captain  called. 
354 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

"Si,  signer!"  Angela  answered.  "I  know.  I  have 
been  to  every  spot.  I  was  to  drive  my  leader  there. 
I  go!  I  tell  them.  You  go  to  her  quick — for  God's 
sake — quick !" 

Urged  by  her  low,  nervous  voice  the  horse  dashed 
down  the  roadway -through  Yonkers  and  on  to  summon 
the  men. 

Waldron  returned  to  the  banquet  hall — an  auto- 
matic in  each  hand.  He  was  a  man  of  dauntless  cour- 
age. The  lights  were  on  again.  His  assistant  engi- 
neer had  found  the  break  and  hastily  repaired  it. 

The  magnificent  hall  was  deserted.  Only  the  dead 
sentinels  lay  in  pools  of  blood  on  the  slippery  floor. 
The  Daughters  of  Jael  had  done  their  work  and  gone 
— their  task  to  disarm  the  enemy  and  deliver  the  equip- 
ments to  our  waiting  men.  Every  sword  and  auto- 
matic had  fallen  into  their  hands  except  those  worn 
by  the  sleeping  guard  in  their  quarters  and  the  half- 
dozen  men  who  were  scattered  over  the  lawn. 

Waldron  quickly  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  barred 
his  doors  and  found  that  he  held  his  castle  still  with 
eighty  faithful  soldiers  and  a  dozen  wounded  servants. 

He  entered  the  library  and  took  his  place  as  the 
special  guard  of  Virginia. 

He  deliberately  took  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her 
lips.  Her  mind  was  still  stunned  by  the  anguish  of 
355 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

her  failure.  There  was  no  longer  feeling  in  body  or 
souL  Nothing  mattered. 

"You're  mine!"  he  cried  fiercely.  "I  hold  you  Cos- 
sack fashion  now!" 

He  paused  in  breathless  rage,  stepped  close  and 
struck  her  a  stinging  blow  with  his  open  hand.  She 
fell  across  a  divan  and  he  stood  over  the  prostrate 
body  with  clenched  fists. 

"To  think,"  he  growled,  "that  I  made  this  idiotic 
blunder  to  win  your  smile!  Well,  it's  mine!  I've  won 
it — do  you  hear?  You've  failed!  My  men  are  com- 
ing— do  you  hear?" 

The  slender,  graceful  form  lay  limp  and  still — the 
face  chalk-white.  She  had  swooned  at  last.  The  blow 
was  more  than  unconquered  pride  could  endure. 

He  gazed  a  moment  with  bloodshot  eyes,  dropped 
suddenly  on  his  knees  and  took  her  in  his  arms. 

"I  love  you — I  love  you — and  you're  all  mine  now 
* — all-— all  mine,  body  and  soul!  My  Lucretia  Borgia 
* — eh?  Well,  you've  found  your  master.  And  you're 
worth  the  fight!" 


CHAPTER  XLIY 

WALDRON  left  Virginia  to  recover,  as  he  knew 
she  would,  and  hurried  again  to  the  tower 
to  rush  his  garrison.     The  answer  came  at 
once: 

"The  men  are  on  the  way,  sir." 

They  were !  Ten  thousand  cavalrymen  with  guidons 
streaming  from  their  lances !  A  thousand  automobiles 
were  sweeping  with  them  in  companies  of  twenty — 
each  machine  packed  with  sturdy  infantrymen,  their 
battle  standards  flying  from  speeding  cars. 

The  first  division  of  cavalry  which  Angela  had  sum- 
moned rescued  Billy's  hard  pressed  men,  wiped  out  his 
opponents,  and  reached  the  shelter  of  the  porte-cochere 
before  Waldron's  guard  inside  realized  their  presence. 

Supposing  the  Imperial  troops  had  answered  the 
summons  the  big  doors  were  opened.  The  entrance 
was  forced  before  Waldron  saw  they  wore  the  felt  hats 
of  the  United  States  Army.' 

He    slammed    the    massive    doors    of    the    library, 
dragged   Virginia   through   another   exit   and   reached 
the  upper  story  by  the  rear  stairway. 
357 


THE  FALL,  OF  A  NATION 

The  Captain  held  the  lower  floor.  Waldron's  guard 
with  their  rifles  and  automatics  commanded  the  land- 
ings of  the  two  stairs.  Yassar  found  his  men  holding 
a  council  of  war  when  he  leaped  from  his  car  and 
entered  the  blood-stained  doorway  of  the  banquet 
hall. 

Vassar  had  just  formed  his  men  in  solid  mass  to 
rush  the  stairway  and  batter  in  the  door  above,  when 
the  big  elevator  shot  down  the  shaft,  showing  Waldron 
with  Virginia  under  guard.  In  a  flash  he  recalled  that 
the  entrance  from  the  Drive  passed  through  the  hill 
to  this  shaft.  If  Waldron  could  reach  the  pier  he  might 
yet  escape  on  his  yacht. 

Vassar  rushed  to  the  window  and  looked  toward  the 
river. 

The  yacht  lay  beside  the  wharf,  her  portholes  gleam- 
ing, her  funnels  belching  flame  and  smoke.  The  engi- 
neer had  gotten  the  signal.  He  was  using  oil  to  force 
the  steam. 

With  a  fierce  cry  of  rage  Vassar  called  to  Billy  and 
a  dozen  men  leaped  after  them. 

They  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill  as  Waldron 
emerged  from  the  tunnel  to  dash  across  the  fifty-yard 
space  that  separated  him  from  the  Drive.  The  yacht 
was  but  a  hundred  yards  beyond  the  road. 

The  Governor-General  formed  a  hollow  square  with 
358 


THE  FALL  OF  *A  NATION 

his  faithful  guard — Virginia  a  prisoner  within  their 
circle  of  steel. 

Waldron  shouted  to  his  men: 

"A  fortune  and  a  title  for  every  man  who  fights  his 
way  to  the  water's  edge!" 

The  guard  fired  a  volley  at  Vassar's  approaching 
men  and  dashed  for  the  roadway  at  the  moment  Angela 
rounded  the  curve,  riding  furiously  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  the  Daughters  of  Jael. 

The  white-robed  girl  riders  charged  straight  for 
their  foes.  Waldron,  taken  completely  by  surprise, 
raised  his  automatic  to  kill  Virginia.  His  finger  was 
pressing  the  trigger  when  Angela  swept  close,  thrust  a 
revolver  into  his  face,  fired  and  circled  to  fire  again. 

The  Governor-General  crumpled  in  his  tracks  and 
his  men  surrendered. 

Virginia  threw  herself  into  Vassar's  arms. 

"I  fear  I  have  failed,  my  love!" 

"Your  army  has  not  failed,  dear  heart!"  he  an- 
swered. "You  have  lifted  a  fallen  nation  from  the 
dust!" 

It  was  true. 

A  hundred  cities  ran  red  with  blood — but  day 
dawned  with  the  flag  of  freedom  flying  from  every  staff 
save  in  Norfolk  and  Boston. 

In  both  those  important  ports  the  plot  had  been 
359 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

betrayed,  hundreds  of  suspected  women  arrested  and 
imprisoned.  The  serious  part  of  it  was  in  these  two 
harbors  were  stationed  four  huge  dreadnaughts  and 
forty  submarines  with  accompanying  hydroplanes. 

In  New  York  the  insurrection  had  swept  all  before 
it.  The  crews  of  the  submarines  were  wiped  out.  Of 
all  who  had  gathered  at  the  dance  and  banquet  halls 
— Angela's  work  had  been  perfect — not  a  sailor  from 
the  fleet  set  foot  again  on  their  decks.  Our  boys, 
dressed  in  their  uniforms,  had  captured  every  ship 
before  day — hand  to  hand,  muscle  against  muscle,  with 
six»inches  of  cold  steel ! 

The  aviation  corps  had  been  practically  wiped  out. 
Their  machines  were  circling  the  skies  at  dawn  passing 
the  signals  to  our  commanders.  Every  arsenal  fell  and 
every  ammunition  factory. 

When  the  sun  rose  on  the  harbor  of  New  York  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  flew  from  every  ship  and  every  fort 
and  an  army  of  five  hundred  thousand  men,  half  of 
them  with  the  best  rifles  in  their  hands  and  big  guns 
lumbering  in  their  lines,  were  mobilizing  under  General 
Wood  to  capture  Boston  and  Norfolk. 

The  battles  that  followed  were  brief,  bloody  and 
glorious  in  their  end.  Norfolk  they  abandoned  and 
their  fleet  was  concentrated  on  Boston. 

The  Imperial  Army  and  Navy  fought  with  reckless 
360 


"Angela  swept  close  .    .    .  fired  and  circled  to  fire  again1 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

bravery,  but  the  end  was  sure.  They  were  outnum- 
bered now,  two  to  one.  Their  submarines  stayed  with 
superhuman  courage  and  sent  six  battleships  with  five 
thousand  of  our  bravest  men  to  their  graves  before 
they  went  down. 

The  captains  of  the  dreadnaughts,  when  they  saw 
the  end  had  come,  swung  their  prows  into  the  teeth  of 
our  fleet  and  sank  with  colors  flying. 

On  the  day  our  army  marched  into  Boston  with 
bands  playing  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  three 
hundred  thousand  Bostonians  stood  in  silence  and  tears 
and  watched  them  pass  the  old  State  House,  along 
Columbus  Avenue,  up  Tremont  Street  and  through 
Beacon  to  the  steps  of  the  Capitol.  There  they  stood 
for  hours  and  sang 

"My  Country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  Liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing." 

The  President  and  his  Cabinet,  released  from  Fort 
Warren,  reviewed  our  victorious  fleet  the  following  day. 

There  were  no  vulgar  cheers.  Their  souls  were 
stirred  to  greater  depths. 

When  the  triumphal  procession  swung  past  the  old 
Armory  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York,  Virginia  Hol- 
land, with  Zonia  and  Marya,  rode  at  the  head  of  a 
division  of  fifty  thousand  Daughters  of  Jael.  The 
361 


THE  FALL  OF  A  NATION 

orderly  outrider  on  her  left  was  a  slender  Italian  mother, 
on  whose  breast  was  pinned  a  tiny  blood-stained  flag 
of  the  Republic. 

Congress  met  in  December.  The  Senate  used  the 
East  Room  of  the  Executive  Mansion,  the  House  of 
Representatives  met  in  the  Belasco  Theater.  These 
two  buildings  stood  intact. 

John  Vassar  was  elected  speaker  of  the  House  with- 
out a  dissenting  voice.  His  bride  from  her  seat  in  the 
gallery  watched  through  tear-dimmed  eyes  as  he  took 
his  seat  on  the  dais,  and  two  wistful  girls,  with  smiling 
faces,  sat  beside  her. 

The  first  bill  for  consideration  was  passed  without 
debate  in  just  the  time  it  took  to  call  the  roll — the  bill 
which  Vassar  had  introduced  five  years  before — pro- 
viding for  a  mobile  army  of  citizen  soldiers  of  a  mil- 
lion men  with  heavy  artillery  and  perfect  equipment. 

The  cost  of  our  defeat  and  humiliation  with  two 
years  of  slavery  had  been  more  than  thirty  billions  of 
the  wealth  of  the  people.  This  fabulous  sum  could 
have  been  saved  by  a  paltry  half  billion  invested  in  a 
navy. 

Taught  wisdom  at  last  in  the  school  of  defeat,  a 
mighty  nation  lifted  her  head  and  girded  her  loins 
for  a  glorious  future. 

(1) 


.ft 


r) 


MAY  03 


315 


